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It’s been mixed news for the UK Counter-Strike scene over the past few days, with Endpoint qualifying for the upcoming ESL Prem i71 LAN finals, while the other already-qualified roster are no longer representing Viperio.
The news comes one month after it was announced that the first ESL Premiership LAN event would be taking place at Insomnia Gaming Festival in Birmingham in September 2023, following a four-year absence.
Viperio CS players become free agents after qualifying for ESL Prem i71 LAN finals (update: they’ve now joined Verdant)
Two weekends ago, Viperio became the first team to qualify for the ESL Prem i71 LAN finals.
They were the best of eight teams in the first closed qualifier, teams from the ESL Premiership Spring 2023 season, after beating Endpoint in the final.
However, the team, featuring UK players Girafffe, Wolfie and Ducky, and Irish players arTisT and Extinct (plus Irish coach Biscu), would depart the organisation just days later.
A post on the Viperio website stated: “Following a period of extension negotiations, Viperio and our Counter-Strike roster have failed to come to an agreement before the expiry date of their most recent contracts. As of August 12th, the starting five and coach will all be free agents.”
The free agent team were listed as ‘The Zoo’ on the ESL Prem Autumn 2023 Liquipedia page, however they said they’re now known as ‘The Free’ and are searching for a new org ‘to help us reach our full potential’:
“We’ve been successful with Viperio and the journey has been fun and memorable, I’m thankful for the opportunities we were given due to our partnership, I wish and hope Viperio and it’s owners nothing but success in their endeavours,” coach Biscu commented.
Viperio said they will be looking for a replacement roster and that their intention is to ‘remain committed to UK Counter-Strike’.
Christopher Sword, Viperio Founder and MD, said: “I’d like to thank our CSGO team for their efforts over the last nine months. From competing in our first two seasons of the ESL Premiership, to reaching a tier one event at the Blast Paris Major EU RMR, there have been many highs across this time.”
“While it was Viperio’s intention to retain this roster and build upon our joint story, the team have a different vision which they’re keen to pursue. I wish the players the best of luck in their careers and thank them for their contributions to date.”
Update (September 6th 2023): The Free have now joined Verdant and will be representing the UK esports organisation at the ESL Prem i71 LAN finals.
Endpoint and others qualify for ESL Prem LAN, with a few spots still up for grabs
Another well-known UK CSGO org, Endpoint, are joining The Free at the ESL Prem i71 LAN finals, after winning the second closed qualifier this weekend.
They beat the likes of Verdant, Into the Breach and Raptors Esports Club to progress.
Endpoint’s team currently consists of UK players Surreal, MiGHTYMAX, AZUWU, plus Hungarian player sl3nd and Israeli player HeavyGod, plus Canadian coach Frøg.
Also, other teams have qualified including Raptors and the ex-Coalesce roster, with Into the Breach missing out:
Endpoint will also have a stand at Insomnia 71, in partnership with CeX and Socios. They will be running meet and greets with their female Rocket League team, CSGO team and creator Pickapixel.
More spots are still up for grabs in the ESL Prem i71 LAN finals on September 8th, with the last chance qualifiers on September 7th in Birmingham providing the last four team slots.
In other recent UK CS news, Into the Breach released NEOFRAG from their CS roster citing breaches of company standards.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
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 worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
