The current break in competitive Counter-Strike is expected to be very heated. A lot of rumors are circulating, varying in likelihood and scale, but it seems like many dominoes will fall this winter.

Table of Content
  1. Ropz Starts the Domino Effect
  2. FaZe Clan and their Dilemma
  3. Who Will Team Falcons Sign?
  4. Who Else Will Be Targeted in the Offseason?
Comment on this

Ropz Starts the Domino Effect

Image: x.com

Letā€™s begin with the main rumor, which is highly likely to be true. Ropz will leave FaZe Clan as a free agent and join Team Vitality. This was reported by both HLTV and insider neL, so the probability of this happening is almost 100%.Before diving into the consequences, letā€™s take a look at this from a financial perspective. Ropz's contract has expired, and FaZe Clan's financial troubles remain. It seems the management would be happy to reduce the burden on their payroll. (Unconfirmed reports suggest Ropz was earning around $40,000 per month.)

At the same time, Team Vitality is known for rarely purchasing players and instead acquiring them as free agents. These funds could instead be directed to bonus salaries for players. Even if we assume that normally Ropzā€™s transfer might cost, say, half a million dollars, instead of paying the club, Team Vitality could afford to pay the Estonian $20,000 per month for the next two years. A very smart move from the French clubā€™s management.

Image:x.com

What would this transfer mean for Team Vitality? ZywOo is the best sniper in the world, Ropz is potentially one of the best riflers in the world, and with the core of the team likely remaining intact, Team Vitality would be very strong.

FaZe Clan and their Dilemma

Image: x.com

The situation with FaZe Clan is far more interesting. If Ropz leaves, the club will need to find a replacement. Rumors are circulating about acquiring fameĀ from Virtus.pro, but FaZe would be weaker as a result. Thereā€™s also a crazy rumor that Team Falcons is planning to buy almost the entire FaZe Clan trio, along with captain Karrigan. This rumor is currently unsubstantiated, but it raises the right questions:

  • What does FaZe Clan want from its roster, and for what price?

  • Who will Team Falcons target?

Both of these questions remain unanswered for now.

Who Will Team Falcons Sign?

Team Falcons are a major player in the transfer market simply because they can afford to poach almost any player. Many people believe NiKo from G2 Esports is likely to join Team Falcons. Additionally, according to unconfirmed reports, Team Falcons were allegedly willing to pay $3 million for m0NESY, who is very happy to play with NiKo. However, G2 Esports wasnā€™t ready to release their Russian sniper.

Image: x.com

Currently, Team Falconsā€™ roster only includes Magisk, and the project with s1mple didnā€™t work out and, likely, never will. The team needs to show strong results, and according to Valveā€™s new rules, the organization wonā€™t have many opportunities to receive invitations to tier-1 tournaments without a high enough rating. Acquiring FaZe Clan's core could solve this problem, but the situation remains complicated.

If we discard the option of acquiring FaZe Clanā€™s core, another issue arises: right now, Team Falcons has little to offer players aside from coach zonic's experience and bags of cash. Once again,Ā neL sheds light at possible targets: since m0NESY is unlikely to join Team Falcons, so does jimpphat from MOUZ. Team Falcons might be looking for young talented blood, ewjerkz from SAW and jambo from PassionUA.

However, it might not be enough for NiKo to potentially shine, as his current G2 Esports roster would be stronger. At the same time, if NiKo agrees to move to Team Falcons and no big names are signed, the organization clearly doesnā€™t want to change its name in 2025 to "retirement home." The team needs results, and for that, they need victories in the transfer market.

Who Else Will Be Targeted in the Offseason?

There are several rumors circulating around MOUZ players siuhy and jimpphat. In-game leaders (IGLs) are always in short supply, and jimpphat has shown great promise in MOUZ, but although the team has made it to the tier-1 scene, they have yet to win major tournaments.

Image: x.com

Among big-name players currently on the bench are s1mple, Jame, and Perfecto. S1mple is still not in optimal form and is far from his best performance. Perfecto remains an interesting option, but his buyout is significant (otherwise, he would have been acquired long ago). The situation with Jame is the most complicated, as he has a long contract with Virtus.pro, which means a very large buyout. Few teams may want to take on such a unique IGL.

Additionally, thereā€™s a wealth of talent from the tier-1.5 and tier-2 scenes, and each of them would be thrilled at the opportunity to step up to a higher level. An offer from any of the top organizations would be one they wouldnā€™t refuse.

This suggests weā€™ll see a large number of notable transfers and one of the most packed transfer windows. However, thereā€™s one island of stability: Shanghai Major champions Team Spirit are unlikely to change their roster after such a triumph.

Main image: x.com