As the 2025 Counter-Strike 2 season draws near, excitement is building for the highly anticipated BLAST Bounty tournament kicking off on Tuesday, January 14. Featuring 32 of the world's best teams, this event marks the perfect start to a new competitive year.
Before the action begins, let’s dive into the most important offseason roster moves and examine the adjustments made by some of the biggest teams in the scene. In this article, you can find a summary of the most notable roster changes, as well as an overview of the top teams, which opted to stay putt. The new season will start on Tuesday!
Team Spirit: no changes
Following a stellar 2024, which included triumphs at IEM Katowice and the Shanghai Major, Team Spirit has opted for stability amidst swirling rumors. The potential promotion of academy talent Maxim "kyousuke" Lukin has been shelved, and the roster remains intact:
- Boris "magixx" Vorobiev
- Danil "donk" Kryshkovets
- Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov (IGL)
- Myroslav "zont1x" Plakhotia
- Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov
- Sergey "hally" Shavaev (coach)
G2 Esports: NiKo out, HeavyGod in
The biggest move of the offseason was Nikola "NiKo" Kovač’s transfer to Falcons after four years with G2. The implications for the roster are huge. Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa steps into NiKo's former roles, with Nikita "HeavyGod" Martynenko arriving from Cloud 9 to bolster the team’s anchor positions. Despite the star power of NiKo departing, G2’s retooled roster has the potential to shine, led by one of the world's best AWPers, Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov.
- Nikita "HeavyGod" Martynenko
- Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov
- Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski (IGL)
- Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa
- Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač
- Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas (coach)
Natus Vincere: no changes
After a very succesfull year, including a surprising victory at the first CS2 Major in Copenhagen, Natus Vincere has resisted any major roster shakeups. Despite Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev returning to the team's bench, the Ukrainian org retains the same lineup.
- Mihai "iM" Ivan
- Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy
- Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen (IGL)
- Justinas "jL" Lekavicius
- Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov
- Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy (coach)
Vitality: ropz replaces Spinx
Following months of internal stress, Vitality bids farewell to Lotan "Spinx" Giladi and welcomes Robin "ropz" Kool on a free transfer. Pairing the Estonian superstar with Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut creates a lethal duo that could dominate the 2025 season.
- Robin "ropz" Kool
- Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut
- Dan "apEX" Madesclaire (IGL)
- Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
- William "mezii" Merriman
- Rémy "XTQZZZ" Quoniam (coach)
MOUZ: no changes
After securing ESL Pro League Season 19, MOUZ managed to fend off attempts to poach their rising star Jimi "jimpphat" Salo. The team sticks with its young and promising core.
- Ádám "torzsi" Torzsás
- Dorian "xertioN" Berman
- Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek (IGL)
- Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo
- Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin
- Dennis "sycrone" Nielsen (coach)
FaZe Clan: enter EliGE!
FaZe Clan replaced Robin "ropz" Kool with Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski from Complexity. Despite challenges in 2024, the addition of EliGE brings experience and firepower to a lineup hungry for consistency. EliGE was also on G2's radar.
- Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
- Håvard "rain" Nygaard
- Finn "karrigan" Andersen (IGL)
- Helvijs "broky" Saukants
- David "frozen" Čerňanský
- Filip "NEO" Kubski (coach)
FURIA: no changes
Despite turning 34, come May, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo leads FURIA into another year, emphasizing experience and team synergy over roster changes. The Brazilian team's squad remains intact:
- Yuri "yuurih" Santos
- Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato
- Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo (IGL)
- Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes
- Felipe "skullz" Medeiros
- Sid "sidde" Macedo (coach)
Liquid: -YEKINDAR, +NertZ
Liquid hopes to solve their firepower issues by replacing Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis with Guy "NertZ" Iluz. However, their lack of a clear entryfragger raises questions about role balance.
- Guy "NertZ" Iluz
- Keith "NAF" Markovic
- Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (IGL)
- Justin "jks" Savage
- Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak
- Torbjørn "mithR" Nyborg (coach)
officially added chill Guy to our roster Okay now being serious, extremely happy to have @NertzCS part of the team. It was not the first time I went on a search for him, very good Christmas present https://t.co/qaWgSSHx5A
— Russel van Dulken (@Twistzz) January 6, 2025
Astralis: no changes
After heavy spending in previous seasons, Astralis sticks with their current lineup, banking on continued improvement. It remains to be seen however, whether Casper "cadiaN" Møller can have the same impact on rifle, as he did in HEROIC with an AWP.
- Nicolai "device" Reedtz
- Martin "stavn" Lund
- Casper "cadiaN" Møller (IGL)
- Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard
- Victor "Staehr" Staehr
- Casper "ruggah" Due (coach)
Falcons: NiKo arrives at last
Falcons usher in a new era with Nikola "NiKo" Kovač. After missing out on the Bosnian's signature in 2023, they got their guy this time. Joining him and the only remaining member of the previous Falcons squad, Emil "Magisk" Reif, is the former HEROIC core of Abdul "degster" Gasanov, René "TeSeS" Madsen, and Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski. The Saudi-backed org looks to compete at the highest level with this star-studded roster.
- Nikola "NiKo" Kovač
- Emil "Magisk" Reif
- Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski (IGL)
- Abdul "degster" Gasanov
- René "TeSeS" Madsen
- Danny "zonic" Sørensen (coach)
It is time to set the World on Fire. Welcome, @G2NiKo pic.twitter.com/y873AIrgqg
— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) January 3, 2025
The MongolZ: no changes
Following their 2024 playoff run at the Shanghai Major, The MongolZ maintain their roster, preparing to capitalize on their success.
- Sodbayar "Techno" Munkhbold
- Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch
- Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren (IGL)
- Ayush "mzinho" Batbold
- Munkhbold "Senzu" Azbayar
- Erdenedalai "maaRaa" Bayanbat (coach)
BIG Clan: hyped returns, as kyuubii debuts
BIG Clan bring back their former academy AWPer Marcel "hyped" Köhn, as well adding Can "kyuubii" Ali, who is one of the few young German players yet to appear for BIG or BIG Academy. There had also been some speculations about Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz potentially leaving, however the founding member is back for year 9 in the org.
- Can "kyuubii" Ali
- Marcel "hyped" Köhn
- Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz (IGL)
- Karim "Krimbo" Moussa
- Jon "JDC" de Castro
- Alexander "kakafu" Szymanczyk (coach)
HEROIC: another fresh start
The formerly known Danish powerhouse has opted for a fresh start with what turned out to be a 7-man-project. They signed the core of Sangal, in addition to bringing in Álvaro "SunPayus" García and Andrey "tN1R" Tatarinovich. It is to be expected, that both Linus "nilo" Bergman and Pavle "Maden" Bošković will eventually make their way onto the starting lineup.
For now, HEROIC are:
- Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç
- Álvaro "SunPayus" García
- Linus "LNZ" Holtäng (IGL)
- Andrey "tN1R" Tatarinovich
- Simon "yxngstxr" Boije
- Eetu "sAw" Saha (coach)
- Linus "nilo" Bergman (substitute)
- Pavle "Maden" Bošković (substitute)
we are so back pic.twitter.com/Np2VpLBBRE
— HEROIC (@heroicgg) January 10, 2025
Ninjas in Pyjamas: massive overhaul with four new players
Veteran IGL Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer, who was benched by Falcons, will lead the new squad. He will be joined by Rasmus "sjuush" Beck and two former SAW players in Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing and Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto. Rounding out the roster will be Ukrainian AWPer Artem "r1nkle" Moroz, who is the only player remaining from NIP's previous itteration.
The Ninjas will lineup as follows:
- Artem "r1nkle" Moroz
- Rasmus "sjuush" Beck
- Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer (IGL)
- Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing
- Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto
- Richard "Xizt" Landström (coach)
- Audric "JACKZ" Jug (substitute)
The 2025 CS2 season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting yet, with a thrilling mix of stability and bold changes across the scene. We can’t wait for the season to kick off with BLAST Bounty on January 14, followed by the iconic IEM Katowice later in the month. Let the games begin!