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Esports Player Transfers 2021: Week 1 – A Lot Has Happened At the Turn of the Year

CSGO Transfers
Especially in CS:GO there have been some changes lately. (Credit: G2 via Twitter)

As usual, we will bring you the latest player transfers from the world of esports every two weeks in 2021. In the last days of the past year, a lot has happened, and many organizations and teams are repositioning themselves for the new year.

In CS:GO, some big names are changing teams, while other rosters are being completely let go or taken over. We can say the same about Dota 2 and League of Legends. But the Valorant scene is also stirring again, and in Call of Duty, Paris Legion is now the last team standing.

CS:GO: Fer Is Free and Kassad Goes

BOOM: Fer as Stand-In

Fernando "fer" Alvarenga replaces his former teammate João "felps" Vasconcellos as a stand-in.

The future of fer was in the stars for a long time after TACO and dead were removed from MIBR's active roster. In early December 2020, fer was finally released from his contract with MIBR, and shortly after he was training with BOOM. After felps was benched by BOOM as he wanted to pursue other options, fer now steps in as a stand-in.

It's still unclear but a long-term contract with BOOM is not excluded. He already expressed his desire to play with Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo in 2021 and there were rumors that the latter could also join BOOM.

G2: JaCkz on the Bench

Audric "JaCkz" Jug was benched.

After months of trials with JaCkz and François "AmaNEk "Delaunay, G2 decided to keep AmaNEk on the active roster. After CS:GO legend NiKo was added to the team, they tested the two players to see which one would be a better fit for the team - the choice has now been made. JaCkz will be allowed to look for new teams while he remains under contract with G2.

Triumph: Another player moves to Valorant

Ryan "ryann" Welsh is leaving Triumph to continue his career in Riot's tactical shooter Valorant.

After only three months at Triumph, ryann is leaving not only the team, but the entire CS:GO scene. In his three-year career as a pro, he played for Swole Patrol, Singularity and Envy, among others. It is still unknown for which Valorant team he will compete.

Cloud9: Kassad Leaves and Former Roster Has New Team

The ex-roster of Cloud9 has been signed by Extra Salt.

The just founded Org makes its debut in professional Esports in 2021 with the CS:GO roster. With the former Cloud9 players and coach Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen, they have quite a respectable team and we are excited to see what we get to see from them in 2021.

But there is also something happening in the current C9 roster: Coach Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović is leaving the org.

After disagreements with IGL Alex "ALEX" McMeekin, kassad decided to leave the org. However, it was emphasized that they parted on good terms. The Serbian coach has also already found his new team and will be reunited with his former teammates from 100 Thieves at EXTREMUM. With Aaron "AZR" Ward, Jay "Liazz "Tregillgas and Sean "Gratisfaction "Kaiwai only Justin "jks" Savage is missing to complete the former 100 Thieves roster.

High Coast: New Home for the New England Whalers.

The Swedish organization has taken over the ex-News England Whalers roster.

With the roster consisting of Jonathan "djay" Dallal, Josh "PwnAlone" Pigue, Ramal "Rampage" Silva, Ben "ben1337" Smith and Coach Joseph "Muenster" Lima, the organization will compete in North America for the first time. Until then, however, they will have to find a fifth player, as Brendan "Bwills" Williams moved to Triumph.

Heretics: The Team Is Falling Apart

After Jordan "Python" Munck-Foehrle, Timothée "DEVIL" Démolon and Boris "flex0r" Latry already left the team, Lucas "Lucky" Chastang now follows.

After various problems in the team, many changes and countless games with different stand-ins, the players decided to leave their org and look for new options. This leaves Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey as the only remaining player still under contract with Heretics. When asked, the organization announced that it is possible that they will take a break from CS:GO, but a final decision has not been made yet.

ENCE: Player Changes in All Directions

Jani "Aerial" Jussila moves to HAVU.

After ENCE took over two members of HAVU in November with Joonas "doto" Forss and Eetu "sAw" Saha, Aerial is now moving in the other direction after sitting on the bench at ENCE for health reasons.

Also on the bench now is Miikka "suNny" Kemppi in addition to Jere "sergej" Salo.

There are already rumors that he might play for GODSENT in the future, but at the time of writing nothing of this is confirmed and suNny wants to keep all options open.

Dota 2: Team Spirit Is Back

HellRaisers: The Roster Is Complete

Zaur "Cooman" Shakhmurzaev, Ivan "VANSKOR" Skorokhod and Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok complete the Dota 2 roster of HellRaisers.

The three players, who were taken under vertga by the organization shortly after each other, will compete alongside Ilya "LIL ME ALONE" Ilyuk and Alexander "Nix" Levin. With these five players, the org is ready for the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit.

B8: The Team Is Full Again

With Leonardo "RdO" Fernandes, Diego "Sexyfat" Barini Santamaria, Heitor "Duster" Pereira, Daniil "MeTTpuM" Gilev and Filipe "Astini" Astini the roster around Dendi is complete again.

With the arrival of new players and coaches Oleg "LastHero" Demidovich left the team. From the old roster, only Danil "Dendi" Ishutin and Enis "5up" Elfki are left. We are excited to see what the new roster has to offer in 2021.

Team SMG: A New Org Enters the Scene

The org will compete in SEA with a team led by Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross Jr. and Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung.

Singer JJ Lin, who is also the founder of Team SMG, announced that he has always been a big Dota 2 fan and is happy to finally have his own team. So far, the org has focused on Arena of Valor, PUBG and Mobile Legends. With Mushi and ninjaboogie, SMG was able to secure two veterans of the Dota 2 scene, but Tue "ah fu" Chuan is also not an unknown quantity. We are looking forward to a breath of fresh air in the Dota 2 scene.

Team Spirit: A Team Comes Back

Team Spirit announces their return to Dota 2 and introduces their new roster.

After the Dota Pro Circuit 2020 did not take place because of Corona, the Russian organization also decided to use the time to restructure something. They had observed over 80 players and put 12 on the shortlist. Under the name Yellow Submarine, the roster already competed in the fall of 2020 and has now been announced as the official roster of Team Spirit. The roster consists of:

  • Ilya “Yatoro" Mulyarchuk
  • Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO" Hertek
  • Magomed “Collapse" Khalilov
  • Vitaly “so bad" Oshmankevich
  • Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naydenov
  • Airat “Silent” Gaziev (Coach)

League of Legends: Nuguri Moves, Flame ERetires

FunPlus Phoenix: Nuguri Has Arrived in the LPL

Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon has been signed by FPX and sokmit moves into the LPL.

Nuguri was considered one of the most coveted players on the transfer market after winning the 2020 Worlds with DAMWON Gaming. FunPlus Phoenix won the 2019 Worlds but failed to make it out of the qualifiers last year. They are taking aim at the next Worlds with Nuguri.

EDG: Clearlove Plays Again

Head coach Ming "Clearlove" Kai is switching from the coaching role to the playing role. Via Weibo, Clearlove announced that he will be playing himself again two years after retiring as a player. We're excited to see what the former jungler has to offer after a two-year hiatus.

PSG Talon: Maple Is on Board

Mid-Laner Yi-Tang "Maple" Huang will play for PSG Talon in 2021.

In the last two seasons, Maple played for Suning and LNG Esports. With the move to PSG Talon he returns to the PCS, in whose predecessor, the Master Series, he even won the MVP title in 2017.

Misfits Gaming: New Season, New Roster

Misfits Gaming unveiled their new roster for 2021.

The team consists of a good mix of fresh, young players and veterans who have already proven themselves several times. Kobbe and Vander are two LEC veterans on the bot lane, while Agresivoo and Hirit, two young players, are fighting for a place in the starting lineup on the top lane. Also on the mid-lane is Vetheo, who is still an unknown quantity. In the jungle, Razork, one of the few old Misfits players, will provide some good action.

DAMWON Gaming: Flame Retires

World Champion Lee "Flame" Ho-jong's replacement top laner is ending his professional LoL career.

Flame ends his career after an incredible eight years playing in the LPL and LCK before heading to America to play for Immortals and FlyQuest. In 2019, he returned to Korea and took on the substitute player role at DAMWON Gaming. Unfortunately, he did not play in any of the Worlds matches, as all of the matches were contested by Nuguri. His retirement is just one of many this year.

Valorant: Two Teams Disband

FunPlus Phoenix: Roster Complete

With Dmitriy "dimasick" Matvienko, FPX's Valorant roster is complete.

Former CS:GO pro dimasick replaces Johan "Meddo" Lundborg to complete FPX's European roster. Before parting ways with CS:GO at the end of 2019, he played for Ukrainian team pro100.

Team Empire: Org Parts Ways with Roster.

The Russian organization has parted ways with its entire Valorant roster.

Team Empire participated in several tournaments in 2020 and even won the Snow Cup Final. The org announced that they would not be saying goodbye to Valorant entirely and would begin to put together a new team in the coming weeks.

Movistar Riders: Entire Roster Dismissed

Movistar Riders also part ways with their Valorant roster after poor results.

After the team failed to make it through a single qualifier at the First Strike tournament, all former players are now free agents. Like Team Empire, however, the organization is also looking to build a new roster for 2021.

Call of Duty: All Teams Complete

Paris Legion: The Last Team Is Now Complete

With Ulysses "AquA" Silva, Nicholas "Classic" DiCostanzo, Luis "Fire" Rivera, Matthew "Skrapz" Marshall, and coach Dylan "Theory" McGee, the last CDL team is complete.

After a long free agency period, Paris Legion has finally announced their roster for the new season of the Call of Duty League. With the exception of Fire, all players have already played in the CDL in the last season.

Fortnite: C9 Shocks Everyone

Cloud9: Vivid and Chap Fly Out

C9 surprisingly dismisses Noah "Vivid" Wright and Ryan "Chap" Chaplo.

Just six months ago, Chap and Vivid were signed by Cloud9 for Fortnite. The duo was completely unexpectedly fired after, according to C9, they did not meet the expectations of the org, among other things, in the game but also outside of it. Chap is already looking for a new team, while Vivid announced his retirement from the pro scene.

That's it for this week. You can find more about gaming and esports on EarlyGame. Check back in 14 days for the latest transfers in the esports scene. Until then you can catch up on all past transfers.

Original article by EarlyGame's Lukas Ballat.

Tasho Tashev
Tasho Tashev

Law graduate from Sofia University turned gaming journalist. Gaming has always been a passion of mine since I was a kid (shocker I know) so it was only a matter of time before I started writing about it. My high-school...