Counter-Strike 2 News

HenryG confirms Cloud9 will sign a sixth CS:GO player

Having six professional players on a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster is quite a fashionable thing at the moment. With the uncertainty a global pandemic brings, plus the threat of burnout and injury, many organisations have pivoted to bringing in additional players to plug the gap in their schedules. This is something Cloud9's new general manager Henry 'HenryG' Greer wants to explore, but with a twist.

Speaking on the HLTV Confirmed show, the former caster says he's looking to sign a sixth man to the team soon, but that this player will play an active part in the team's training and practice schedule.

"I plan to announce a sixth player as we open up shop," HenryG says. "I'm going to have an active sixth player who's not going to be on the bench as it were, he's going to be actively playing, he'll be more of a brand ambassador while we're setting the operation up and getting the team stabilised.

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MiBR drops TACO, fer, and dead as FalleN steps down from CS:GO roster

Controversy has seemed to follow MiBR everywhere it goes in recent weeks and months, and the organisation's latest announcement only furthers that.

Head coach Ricardo 'dead' Sinigaglia - who was recently banned by tournament organisers ESL and Beyond the Summit after being found guilty of exploiting the CS:GO spectator bug - and players Fernando '⁠fer⁠' Alvarenga and Epitacio 'TACO⁠' de Melo have all been dropped from the organisation due to MiBR wanting to make "some adjustments" to the roster. While this alone was big news for the Brazilian team, it was followed by in-game leader Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo announcing that he would be stepping down from the roster too.

"I'm not satisfied with the recent decision," FalleN says in a Twitlonger. "[The] last weeks have been tough and challenging and that is why I'm asking to leave the active roster while I think on my next steps. This time will be necessary to find my essence and return [to] the peace I need to decide my path, while I accomplish my contractual obligations. The only thing I'm sure is this isn't where the game ends for me."

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ENCE coach Twista suspended after CS:GO spectator bug confession

ENCE's Slaava 'Twista' Räsänen has become the latest coach to admit to using the CS:GO spectator bug exploit and has been suspended by his organisation as a result.

After admitting to his team that he had used the bug to his advantage, ENCE reported Twista to the Esports Integrity Commission, which is investigating historic use of the bug and currently has a confession period open. In a statement, ENCE clarifies that Twista has not yet been proven guilty by ESIC, but that it has started an investigation into the coach. While Twista could have stayed on as ENCE's coach, the organisation decided to suspend him anyway in the interest of competitive integrity.

"During our consultation, ESIC stated that we are allowed to let Twista act as a coach through the investigation period, but we have decided to suspend him regardless," the statement reads. "While Twista has done a stellar job coaching the team at ENCE and we have no reason to believe he has had any foul play during his time with us, we take competitive integrity very seriously. Suspending him to conclude the investigation was the only course of action we saw to be right."

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Cloud9 signs CS:GO star ALEX in $1.65 million deal

As part of its mass restructuring of its CS:GO team, Cloud9 has added former Team Vitality rifler Alex 'ALEX' McMeekin as its new in-game leader.

ALEX becomes the second signing of new general manager Henry 'HenryG' Greer after the former CS:GO caster brought in Aleksandar 'Kassad' Trifunovic as head coach. In levels of transparency rarely seen in the esports industry, HenryG openly revealed some of the details of ALEX's signing, confirming the Brit has penned a three year deal worth $1.65 million. This comes after HenryG promised to be as open as possible about Cloud9's business in forming its new team.

While ALEX officially departed Vitality less than 24 hours ago, he has not played for the organisation for over six months after stepping down from the main roster, citing burnout and exhaustion over Vitality's packed travel schedule. By joining Cloud9, ALEX will now be part of an organisation with a less strenuous schedule as the only tournament organiser it is partnered with is Flashpoint.

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CS:GO teams found to have used coach bug will have RMR points reset

It's been hard to see the light in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene recently. Reports of match-fixing are being investigated, the CS:GO Rio Major has been cancelled, and there's been a significant fall out around the coach bug scandal. Now though, Valve has broken its silence to weigh in.

In a statement commenting on the future of the Rio CS:GO 2020 Major, Valve also addressed the coaching bug scandal that's been the focus of many for the last two weeks. Investigations led by the Esports Integrity Commission, which will reportedly last at least eight months, revealed that the bug has been in existence since 2016 - something Valve calls "unfortunate."

"It is unfortunate and frustrating that we did not respond to this bug sooner," Valve says. "But bugs are the reality of software-and until they are resolved, we need to be able to trust players and coaches."

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