If you’re going to write reports about the CS scene, you probably shouldn’t start releasing fake ones. KRL learned that the hard way this week.
Also this week: Monte have returned with one of the international teams of all time, and the Thunderpick World Championships got underway over in Malta.
Match highlights
Another Stake Pulse is beating in Stockholm this weekend as playoffs begin, headlined by new-look Astralis taking on an MIBR squad that was challenged by BC.Game. Coughing babies all around. So far, it looks like the Thunderpick trophy will go to either FURIA or Falcons, or, as we like to portmanteau it, Furcons. Monte returns to CS2
New team, same Monte? Illustration by Fuffy Ah, an AI slop announcement . Must be a new Monte roster.
Real question, though: would it actually set you back that much to pay an editor to cook up something decent? Sorry, sensitive topic.
That’s right, the Ukrainian org is back and ready to “conquer new heights” with the middest roster you’ve ever seen - Astralis excluded, obviously . Captain sdy and coach T.c lead the charge, with mantuu, br0, St0m4k and CYPHER filling out the ranks.
Yes, the same CYPHER who was on Into the Breach while its CEO sucked it dry, and on BLEED while it was hemorrhaging money everywhere but into the players’ pockets. So, naturally , where does he go next? Monte. The guy must be allergic to getting paid on time.
Oh, you haven’t heard? Silly us, we forget most people aren’t chronically online and actually have these things called ‘jobs’. Ew.
Basically, Monte’s rebuild comes less than two months after a messy public fallout with its previous lineup. When Bymas, afro, AZUWU, and Rainwaker left for Luminosity over the summer, Monte released a video where CEO Dmytro Vovk accused them of hiding the move during extension talks.
According to the players, though, Monte is yet another prestigious member of the “we’ll pay you soon(ish)” club, owing them tens of thousands of dollars in salary, prize money, and sticker revenue. The org denied it, then admitted it, then pulled the classic “it’s not our fault” card, blaming delayed transfer and sponsorship payments.
It’s basically esports’ version of the ‘chicken or the egg’ conundrum, and it happens a lot more often than you’d think.
That said, we can only hope Monte has learned from its mistakes and can properly support this new squad and its ambitions. Which, let’s be honest, shouldn’t be much more than winning some random Tier 3 LAN in the middle of nowhere.
Let’s just hope they see their respective share of that prize money when the time comes…
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