Transfer Rumors in CS2. Changes in Spirit! Which Other Teams Will See Reshuffles?
2025 is already coming to an end, and the CS2 competitive season concluded just a few days ago. It seems like just this past weekend everyone was focused solely on the Major in Budapest, and now they’re only talking about transfers. There’s nothing surprising about this, because despite Vitality’s decline in the second half of the year, they still showed solid results, regularly making playoffs and finishing the season with a victory at the main tournament. Obviously, top organizations don’t like being in the role of chasers, and the ambitions of the players themselves require thinking about necessary changes. In this article, we’ll examine the main candidates for replacement based on insider rumors and our own observations. Let’s go!
Team Spirit
- Out: zweih, Chopper
- In: magixx (IGL), zont1x
Let’s start with the Dragons, who didn’t delay and announced reshuffles literally 5 days after being eliminated from the Major! We can only express respect for Spirit’s management, as they’re not afraid to take the most risky steps and acknowledge previous mistakes. Ivan “zweih” objectively didn’t live up to the hopes placed on him, and the two debut championships were won on the shoulders of his teammates (donk). We don’t rule out that this plan emerged for the Dragons back this summer when they unexpectedly signed tN1R, having magixx in reserve, who could replace zont1x while he dealt with health problems.
Now everything is falling into place and it’s hard to find weak spots in the team. Magixx’s roles are perfectly suited for a captain, and Chopper’s initiative roles will go to tN1R, who will handle them much better. On paper, everything now looks very good, and Boris’s lack of experience as an IGL doesn’t concern us at all. From Spirit’s vlogs, it’s easy to conclude that the team’s coach demands strict adherence to the game plan from players, which he prepares independently. Throughout his entire career, magixx has proven his discipline, and his excellent relationship with each team member can convey the head coach’s thoughts to the players. It’s also important that all the financial aspects remained untouched and the costs came from the summer transfer window. It remains to be seen how it will work in practice, but the resulting roster looks very strong, primarily thanks to the reunion of the donk, zont1x, magixx trio. Each of them complements each other perfectly and they understand perfectly how to behave on the server, so the team will need minimal adaptation time.
FURIA
- Chance of change according to HLTV: 0%
- Chance of change according to SIH: 10%
Besides Vitality, this is the only team that will spend the winter holidays without a headache. FalleN has hinted several times that he hasn’t yet decided on extending his contract and is thinking about “leaving at the peak.” Top-8 at the Major can hardly be called a peak, even considering 4 tournament wins in the last 3-4 months. We’re confident that FURIA’s bosses already have a prepared contract lying in the office, which the Brazilian CS legend will sign at any time, and the media team will be able to prepare an epic announcement for social media. Perhaps the playoff failure at the Major will only play into the organization’s hands and even more victories await them.
Falcons
- Chance of change according to HLTV: 80%
- Chance of change according to SIH: 50%
Kyousuke’s arrival undoubtedly gave the team more confidence in terms of firepower. Individually, Falcons are possibly the strongest team in the world, but the tactical component leaves much to be desired. HLTV believes that reshuffles should happen in the roster, which we partly agree with, but under certain conditions. The Falcons need to look for problems in only two roles – coach and IGL. Zonic’s contract is just expiring and whether he’ll get a new one is still unknown. The problem is that it’s currently difficult to find a suitable replacement candidate and, most importantly – a similar situation is developing with the captain slot.
The Macedonian is a decent captain, but he doesn’t always cope with the pressure that arises from the community’s high expectations. Almost the only realistic scenario where kyxsan goes to the bench is if NiKo becomes IGL and Falcons add a quality rifler like Jimpphat, who has been linked to them for over a year. Will something like this happen? We think everything will depend on the situation in the transfer market and “available players.” Falcons always keep their finger on the pulse and can pick up a suitable player, but will one be found? That’s exactly why we give 50% for reshuffles in Falcons because buying just anyone definitely doesn’t make sense for them.
MOUZ
- Chance of change according to HLTV: 70%
- Chance of change according to SIH: 85%
Jimpphat has already flashed through our thoughts, so it’s time to talk about MOUZ. It’s strange that according to HLTV, the chance of changes in Falcons is higher than in MOUZ. In various rumors about the Mice, specific names are already being mentioned for arrivals, and not only the young Finn may leave, but at least one more player. They say Jimpphat will leave the organization of his own volition, but who will be the second is still unknown. PR from GamerLegion is currently the most frequently mentioned player as a potential signing. And this is not surprising, because he came to GL from MOUZ NXT and it’s possible that during the transfer from the academy, the Mice retained priority buyback rights. PR had an excellent year in GL, regularly attending tier-1 events, reaching playoffs a couple of times, and was one of the main stars on the server. It feels like the potential transfer will be win-win for both the player and MOUZ, but GamerLegion will hardly be able to find a worthy replacement.
If we move on to speculation about the second potential departure, it’s difficult to name a specific candidate. Even one change in this team is a forced decision. The guys have great vibes, fantastic results, and the only thing missing is trophies. In that case, a replacement is the only right decision, especially when the team has been in this position for more than a year. The youngsters have grown up and are ready to embark on an independent journey. The first, apparently, will be Jimmy and, for now, in our opinion, the only one.
NAVI
- Chance of change according to HLTV: 80%
- Chance of change according to SIH: 80%
The past Major once again proved that B1ad3 is 80 percent of NAVI’s success at the moment. That’s exactly the same chance that in 2026, Born to Win will give their jersey to a new player and take it from one of the current ones. Or will there be no new player at all? Haven’t forgotten that NAVI has last season’s HLTV top-5 in reserve? The Lithuanian came to Budapest to support his former teammates and announced his readiness to return to the pro scene! Of course, jL would be happy with such an outcome, but can this be exactly the reshuffle that will change something drastically? Personally, we doubt it.
They say that this winter NAVI will still enter the transfer market and look for reinforcements. The same Jimpphat should definitely get on B1ad3’s radar. There are also rumors about interest in the young Slovak from FaZe. Frozen managed to play a couple of months with s1mple and Kostylyev definitely already told about the positive experience of playing not only during the cast of the past Major, but also personally to NAVI’s coach. True, FaZe’s recent success may greatly complicate this transfer, but if frozen shows certain desire, he can leave FaZe.
And who to replace? At first glance, everything is simple here. B1t is obviously an untouchable player, of adequate alternatives to w0nderful, only degster comes to mind, but this transfer is impossible in advance. There are also very few captains on the market right now, so Aleksib is quite calm. Makazze just came from the academy and is already demonstrating play above expectations, so only iM remains. Perhaps everything is much more complicated and NAVI currently has no players confidently sitting in their seats and even b1t risks leaving his home organization. The successful academy roster was sold to FUT, and the newcomers recruited in their place are unlikely ready to repeat makazze’s path. We won’t get into B1ad3’s head because he can come up with a completely unexpected plan and make a choice in favor of, say, Kvem from Passion UA, bring back someone from the same FUT, or remember r1nkle from NIP for w0nderful’s spot. Only one thing is clear: changes will definitely happen!
Author: 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.
