Summer Rostermania in CS2: which teams nailed their moves, and who flat-out fumbled?
In just a couple of days, on July 21, tier-1 events are back and the second season of 2026 officially kicks off. BLAST Bounty Season 2 will feature 32 teams, and plenty of them won’t be lining up the way they did when season one wrapped. So in this piece we’re breaking down the most interesting and most talked-about changes at the top of the scene.
BC.Game
- In: Senzu, mzinho, Magisk
- Transfer grade: 9/10
Sure, bringing up BC.Game in a conversation about elite teams raises an eyebrow — but take a look at what the roster actually became, on top of a lineup that already had s1mple, electroNic and TaZ. This is a genuine tier-1 group now, players who know what trophies and deep playoff runs feel like, and the team is a real shot at climbing back to the top for all of them. If the project takes off, it’ll be one of the great comeback stories. Best of all, they don’t even need silverware to call it a success: qualifying for the Major in Singapore and a couple of big events would be plenty.
It’s a realistic target, you have to admit. The main thing is that these guys actually want to compete, rather than sit out a contract and watch the bank balance tick up. We wrote earlier that Senzu had clearly chosen the money — and looking at the finished roster, we’re ready to take that back in advance. It genuinely feels like the best lineup BC.Game could have assembled this summer. For the first time in a while it’ll be fun to watch a team with s1mple in it, because buying out the SAW core never intrigued anyone.
The MongolZ
- Out: mzinho, cobrazera
- In: tikuak, DarkMeister
- Transfer grade: 4/10
If BC.Game are a potential new tier-1 team, the Mongolians have to be discussed in terms of a tier-1 team the scene might be about to lose — one with real character. It all started with Senzu’s departure, of course, yet The MongolZ still managed the occasional playoff run at big events, playing that chaotic, aim-driven CS they’re known for. But if losing Senzu was a serious hole in the hull, mzinho leaving is the kind of structural damage that calls for a full rebuild.
The remaining core of 910, Techno and bLitz no longer looks like it’s standing on solid ground, while the two 18-year-olds who came in have taken on an enormous weight of expectation from an entire country — The MongolZ are, quite literally, a national treasure in Mongolia. Can the newcomers handle that pressure? Will the senior players be able to — and, more importantly, find the motivation to — help them settle in? And does coach maaRaa still have ideas for getting the machine running the way it used to? The invites are still there for now, but if they stall out at the first few events, things will start to smell burnt. Come winter, someone will absolutely come knocking with a buyout offer for an AWPer like 910, and at that point not a single marquee player from the old MongolZ will be left.
Aurora
- In: ash, kyxsan, Jimpphat
- Out: MAJ3R, soulfly, Fabre
- Transfer grade: 8/10
Every rumour checked out: Aurora had the loudest off-season of anyone, scrapping the all-Turkish lineup entirely and switching to English. XANTARES and woxic have played in international sides before, but Wicadia will have to adjust to a new reality. Given that he’s been one of the team’s primary weapons, how well he integrates could be the decisive factor in whether Aurora take off.
The central figure here, though, should be head coach ash. His work at GamerLegion drew universal praise — he got serious results without a single superstar on the roster. He doesn’t have a donk, m0NESY or ropz at his disposal now either, but let’s be honest, this roster is more than respectable. There’s experience, firepower and hunger: not one of these players has ever gotten his hands on a truly meaningful trophy. The Turks need to make the most of their last few years — maybe months — on the pro scene, while kyxsan and Jimpphat have something to prove, namely that their reputations as some of the best in the world in their roles are deserved.
Position for position, this is a straight upgrade. Whether the chemistry clicks and whether ash can find the right approach with this group is the intriguing part, and there’s no obvious answer.
MOUZ
- – Jimpphat
- + PR
- Transfer grade: 6.5/10
Despite what looked like a successful trial run with jL, MOUZ decided against signing the Lithuanian for reasons of their own — even though almost nobody doubted the move would happen once his departure from NAVI was announced. It’d be fascinating to know what actually went wrong: personal terms, differing views on how to play, or simply a vibe mismatch? Maybe the curtain will lift one day, but for now the conversation is about PR joining.
Set aside the fact that Justinas was supposed to be in that seat, and the signing really isn’t bad at all. First, PR comes from within the organisation and did well in the academy, so he’ll feel at home right away. Second, there have been stretches where he genuinely lit up top teams and could take over entire maps by himself. That suits MOUZ, who often lean on whoever’s hot on the day: it’s not unusual to see xertioN, torzsi or Spinx finish a match with absurd numbers and total control over the opponent. PR can be that player too, though plenty of analysts have criticised the move over role clashes. We don’t believe mistakes that basic get made at this level, especially with a squad this young — adjusting to new positions should be far easier for them, since they don’t have years of habit built up in specific roles.
What MOUZ didn’t do, however, is the one thing that mattered: they didn’t bring in the kind of experience that would give them the confidence they lack in the biggest matches and let them fight for titles. Most likely they’ll stay a top team that falls in the playoffs and leaves events with a decent placing and a perfectly satisfactory showing, but no trophy.
HEROIC
- In: MartinezSa, Brollan
- Out: yxngstxr, xfl0ud
- Transfer grade: 10/10
You’ve probably already spotted the grade and are fairly asking why it’s so high. The answer is simple — this is an obvious upgrade. What more do you need to hand out full marks? Even during the golden Danish era with cadiaN, when they sat at number one in the world rankings, HEROIC were never really in the conversation as the best team on the planet. For years now all they’ve done is sell players, and it was finally time to strengthen and spend a little themselves.
The team now has a real AWPer, and a very promising one at that, who’d been linked with far bigger tags like Liquid, FaZe and G2. How could that signing get anything other than a plus? It’s a genuine win for the organisation: we used to praise them for their transfer policy on the selling side, and now the management has shown it can buy well too. Although, if you think about how many rosters HEROIC have had to build from scratch lately, they’ve never had trouble on the incoming side either.
As for Brollan, his experience will clearly help — especially remembering how well he played at the Major, at a point when the motivation to play for MOUZ was already gone. And here’s one more argument for the grade: this lineup has already won a tier-2 LAN, Stake Ranked Episode 3, picking up precious VRS points and $25,000 while beating 3DMAX, NIP and K27.
Liquid
- In: Jorko, JT (no official announcement)
- Out: ultimate, siuhy (no official announcement)
- Transfer grade: 6/10
Thanks to BLAST for publishing team registrations publicly and, once again, beating the teams themselves to the announcement. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and pick this apart in detail — we’ll just give the broad verdict. Parting ways with siuhy was clearly the right call, and JT, given his track record in North America, is a solid choice. The one question mark: he’s used to working alongside his compatriot, coach T.c, and whether the team will move on from flashie is anyone’s guess. Either way, both scenarios work out fine for Liquid — no doubt about that.
And no doubts about cutting ultimate either. He arrived at Liquid on the back of glowing words from PashaBiceps, as his protégé, and coasted on that goodwill for far too long. He simply couldn’t handle tier-1 and wasn’t useful to the team in a single important match. Is Jorko a good pick? No idea — but the 17-year-old Bulgarian will have to work hard to do worse than ultimate.
Smaller moves
GamerLegion: +FL4MUS -PR
- Transfer grade: 8/10
Timur has essentially escaped Virtus.Pro, where he’d been drifting from loan to loan on a contract that runs through 2029. That alone should lift the Russian, who looked good at GamerLegion a year and a half ago and has played well for BetBoom Team over the last three or four months. PR, meanwhile, had clearly had enough of the constant churn at GL after ash left, so letting him go to MOUZ was the right thing to do.
FUT: -lauNX +xfl0ud
- Transfer grade: 6.5/10
When we were discussing the rumours around this organisation, we thought it might fall apart entirely — instead it got away with a single change. The move was obviously forced, and it’s a good thing they found a capable shooter who should fit the aggressive, in-your-face style this team plays. The Turk is loud, energetic and genuinely skilled. But when a change is a forced one, it’s hard to view it too positively. On balance it’s a reasonably successful reshuffle, though the fact that practice will have to slow down while the newcomer beds in is a shame. On the other hand, the NAVI Junior core is still intact — so why shouldn’t the Turk slot into their system just as smoothly?
Astralis: -ruggah +NEO
- Transfer grade: 5/10
Astralis’ total collapse at the Major felt like it demanded much bigger changes. Bringing in NEO gets them a more authoritative, more experienced coach — but was that ever ruggah’s problem? Hardly. And was NEO ever considered a tactical genius? Also doubtful. So on name value the swap might look good, but in reality it’s unlikely to be the reshuffle Astralis actually needed.
Summer 2026 Rostermania: the verdict
This transfer window turned out to be a lively one — and honestly, there probably wasn’t much more to hope for. The top teams don’t have any glaring problems or holes that needed patching, and the only genuinely disappointing side was NAVI. That said, given they’re the one team that pulled out of BLAST Bounty Season 2, another move isn’t out of the question. More likely, though, B1ad3 has simply locked the team away at a bootcamp and given this lineup one last chance.
We can’t wait for the new season to start, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on all the new faces.
Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
