In the world of Counter-Strike, organizations come and go. Sometimes, they even come back again. It’s a fast-moving business where only the smartest operators can thrive. In the past, we’ve had a ton of massive organizations enter the CS scene before leaving for pastures new. We’re taking a look at some of these organizations, pointing out the ones that should return to the CS2 scene.

OPTIC GAMING

Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL

OpTic Gaming is probably the biggest esports organization not currently fielding a CS2 team. While it’s more known for its efforts in Call of Duty, its previous CS:GO rosters between 2016 – 2019 featured a ton of great talents. NA players like stanislaw, NAF, tarik, and RUSH all wore the OpTic Gaming jersey in CS:GO, before a move to a Danish focus saw players like TeSeS, Snappi, k0nfig, and niko all come on board. That’s not to mention friberg‘s time with the team, too! OpTic even reached a few Majors during their time in CS:GO, and we’d love to see them make a huge return in CS2.

100 THIEVES

Credit: Bart Oerbekke | © ESL

100 Thieves is another massive organization that seems to have a Counter-Strike blind spot. In the past, it fielded two different CS:GO rosters: a Brazilian team with the likes of HEN1 and LUCAS1, and a mostly Australian squad featuring jks and jkaem. 100 Thieves has had some good players in the past, but it doesn’t feel like it’s ever fully committed to the scene, jumping in and out between 2017 and 2020. That said, the resources are definitely there for the 100 Thieves organization to return in CS2, and if it could pick up the right roster, it could be a real problem.

APEKS

Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL

Apeks only left CS2 this year, after putting its entire roster up for transfer and putting the overall division on hold. The team have made quite an impact on the scene since the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, and it’s sad seeing them struggle to live up to that level. We do expect Apeks to return to CS2 in good time, but we’ll miss them in the meantime. They’ve been a good presence at events over the last twelve months, so we hope they can get things figured out.

DIGNITAS

Credit: Fragbite

Dignitas fielded rosters in CS 1.6, Source, and CS:GO, and was even home to the legendary core of dupreeh, Xyp9x, and dev1ce, before they became the iconic trio they are today. The history of Dignitas dictates that it belongs in Counter-Strike, so despite leaving the scene back in 2022, we hope they make the decision to rejoin for CS2. They didn’t get the big prizes in their early efforts, but we could definitely see Dignitas having the resources to pick up a winning roster in CS2.

LUMINOSITY GAMING

Credit: DreamHack

Luminosity Gaming‘s time in CS:GO between 2015 – 2019 will never be forgotten. Their commitment to the Brazilian scene paid dividends, winning a CS:GO Major at MLG Major Columbus 2016. Legends like FalleN, fer, fnx, and coldzera all represented the organization, bringing glory through their unique brand of CS. It’s a shame to see a Major winning organization out of the game for so long, and we’d like to see them come back in some form.

SK GAMING

Credit: Patrick Strack | © ESL

SK Gaming picked up the iconic Luminosity roster we just discussed, kicking off a hugely successful period of its own. It was trophies galore for SK Gaming in CS:GO, and it even has an earlier history in CS 1.6, too. It’s easily forgotten, but before the Brazilians arrived, SK Gaming had a history of Danes such as Magisk, Pimp, k0nfig, and cadiaN flying the flag. SK Gaming left CS back in 2018, but it’s a totally different game nowadays (literally, with CS2). Is it time for this historic CS organization to make a return in CS2? Perhaps.

IMMORTALS

Credit: Patrick Strack | © ESL

You might be a little more familiar with Immortals‘ League of Legends team, but that’s okay. The streets won’t forget Immortals’ 18-month stint in CS:GO between mid-2016 and late-2017, when it featured Brazilian players like HEN1 and fnx. It was a short stint in the game, but during this period, they even managed to reach the Final of the PGL Major Krakow 2017, which is more than most organizations can say. If Immortals have the resources, we think a return to CS2 could be an interesting move for the team.

ROGUE

Credit: Adela Sznajder | © DreamHack

Nowadays, you’re more likely to be familiar with Rogue‘s League of Legends roster. However, from 2016 – 2019, Rogue operated in CS:GO. It didn’t have the most success, but it notably was home to players like cadiaN, niko, MSL, and Hiko during its stint in the game. Rogue is a massive esports organization, and there’s certainly a place for it to return in CS2. We think it’s the type of organization that would massively benefit from committing to a national identity, and building its CS2 fan base from there.