Multiple North American orgs reportedly exiting Counter-Strike

Fariha Bhatti Published 24/11/2020

New England Whalers has confirmed the release of its Counter Strike: Global Offensive roster and according to a report by DBLTAP, Chaos Esports Club might follow suit.

Adding to what has already been a rough year for North American Counter-Strike, two organizations that have been steady presences are reportedly set to exit the game. The New England Whalers released the team citing the ongoing global health situation, while Chaos Esports Club has not issued a statement on the matter.

.@whalersgg CS:GO Team Open To Explore Free Agency.

PR: https://t.co/7gx7nRkYuR

“…the organization would not be able to offer an extension to its top ranked Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) team.” pic.twitter.com/LggPmA5wyY
— New England Whalers (@whalersgg) November 22, 2020

Since its inception in 2018, New England Whalers has struggled to win any major title but the team has found its footing recently. The American roster bested the likes of Furia Esports in IEM New York, an achievement that saw it jump up in most prominent CSGO rankings. The situation is not as grim as it may seem, as co-founder Diego Freitas has said that the “Whalers might soon return to CS: GO.”

The news hit North American CS fans a few hours after the reports of Chaos Esports Club potentially exiting the scene surfaced. The North American organization is reportedly shopping its roster to other organizations as it prepares to divest from the game. Chaos has dominated the North American regional scene in 2020 and scored the biggest win in organization history last week by winning IEM XV Beijing Online. That earned the team a spot in December’s IEM Global Challenge.

North American Counter-Strike is in a tricky spot

The global health situation ahs impacted organizations in all games and regions. But North American CS has taken a particularly hard hit courtesy of this and the release of Valorant. Tens of notable CSGO pros have walked away from the game in favor of a fresh start in Valorant, while organizations are giving a good look at the rival tactical shooter.

The New England Whalers isn’t the first team to exit CSGO. 100 Thieves began liquidating its roster last month, citing a lack of prominent events. Numerous CSGO veterans left the game and moved to Valorant because of lack of action in North America, including Damian “daps” Steele and Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella. The exodus isn’t expected to culminate anytime soon.

The BLAST premier fall showdown was expected to normalize the esports scene. However, in a recent turn of events, Evil Geniuses won’t be participating in the event due to travel issues. North American CSGO is certainly going through a dark period on a number of different fronts.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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