ENVY Returns to Counter-Strike After Five Years, Picking Up an “Unpaid” 3DMAX Roster

Owen Harsono Published 01/10/2026

North American esports organization ENVY has officially made its return to Counter-Strike. After putting its CS:GO division on hold in 2021, the org returns by signing the full former 3DMAX roster, so they aren’t starting from scratch.

ENVY Begins a New Era

ENVY is not only a massive esports organization, but also a legendary one in Counter-Strike. The org fielded one of the strongest French rosters in history, winning the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca Major in 2015 alongside numerous other S-tier events.

After letting the title-winning roster go, ENVY tried several other rosters but couldn’t match those results, and eventually pulled out of Counter-Strike entirely.

Now, 2026 seemed like a good time to return, as ENVY bought out 3DMAX’s entire French lineup, in what looks like a tribute to France – the nation that built its legacy.

The new ENVY roster consists of the following:

Bryan “Maka” Canda
Filip “Graviti” Branković
Lucas “Lucky” Chastang
Jeremy “Kursy” Gast
Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier

This is the very roster that is likely to appear at leading CS2 betting sites in upcoming tournaments.

The Top 20 Roster That Went Unpaid

If you’ve been tuning into Counter-Strike over the past few years, you’ve definitely seen 3DMAX hanging around top-tier CS2 tournaments. They were a solid squad who would make playoff appearances at big events from time to time, and even peaked at #10 in the world rankings.

However, the team’s performance saw a noticeable dip in this season, when the team failed to qualify for the 2026 IEM Cologne Major. The lackluster results started making sense when French source KRL reported that the 3DMAX org reportedly owed over €1.5M to players, staff, and other stakeholders.

“Pressure has always been a privilege in competition but this was a different type of pressure that not many can handle and battle through on a daily basis and the very hard scheduling that has CS2 lately. But we somehow kept fighting and performing… Obviously it took a toll on the whole project, it was mentally challenging and exhausting,” team captain Maka shared on X. He didn’t mention the debts directly, but described the toll on the team.

Image via ESL

Despite the setbacks, the 3DMAX roster was still very competitive globally, and has now found a new home under ENVY. We should see them make one last push to secure their spots in the upcoming 2026 PGL Singapore Major.

Is This Roster Lifting Trophies?

The new ENVY roster is a mix of proven veterans and rising talent. So, is this roster going to win any top-tier events? Probably not.

This core is a solid Tier 1.5 team. They can easily take down teams ranked below them, but they don’t really have the potential to topple the best CS2 teams like Vitality or Falcons.

3DMAX recently won Logitech G Play Connect 2026, a $100,000 tournament, and are well in the running for a Singapore Major invite, so ENVY picked them up at a pretty promising time.

It’s definitely a solid acquisition, but don’t expect this roster to win the org another Major. They’re competitive, but they don’t scream title-winning just yet.

Feature Image Credit: ENVY

Owen Harsono

About Owen Harsono

Owen lives for competition, spending most of his gaming hours on Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. A regular on the SEA Dota 2 leaderboards, he combines his first-hand experience with a deep passion for esports journalism, following the professional scenes of all three esports betting titles religiously. When he’s not writing, he’s most probably betting on esports and watching the latest events.

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