Exclusive: Team Dignitas explain why their next CSGO team will be based in North America

Dom Sacco, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 20/12/2016

Yesterday Team Dignitas announced they have parted ways with their CSGO team, and will build their next team in North America.
Today the historically UK-based organisation have explained to Esports News UK the reasoning behind this move.
Michael “ODEE” O’Dell, Team Dignitas President, said: “We intend to be incredibly active in UK player recruitment and competition for all the squads in our Team Dignitas family. We see a bright future for Team Dignitas in CSGO, and are very committed to forming an elite team of the worlds best international players.
“We intend to headquarter our CSGO squad in North America so that they may have access to the best training, development, and health and wellness resources we can provide.
“It has been a pleasure to work with such talented players as Rene ‘cajunb’ Borg, Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen, Ruben ‘rubino’ Villarroel, Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif and Casper ‘Ruggah’ Due – and I am confident we will compete against them at the highest level in the future.”
 

“We intend to headquarter our CSGO squad in North America so that they may have access to the best training, development, and health and wellness resources we can provide.”

 
Team Dignitas were acquired by US basketball brand the Philadelphia 76ers in September.
Dignitas and the 76ers said in a statement they are committed to building their next ‘elite, international CSGO team based in North America with the goal of dominating the global competitive gaming landscape’.
“Team Dignitas aspires to lead the eSports industry in player recruitment and development; we are confident our fans will continue to be excited by our future player and personnel announcements,” they added.
Ruggah said in a Twitlonger post that Dignitas offered the players a ‘very competitive’ deal, but after negotiating the team decided to commit their future elsewhere in esports.

Dom Sacco, Senior Editor

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025. As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late '80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.

All Posts By Dom Sacco