ash to seek “new opportunities” outside of GamerLegion

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 21/01/2026

British coach Ashley ‘ash’ Battye has revealed that he is looking for new opportunities outside of GamerLegion.

The news follows his decision to step away from the active roster due to burnout in December.

The Brit has been in GamerLegion since 2020, garnering significant praise for elevating the org’s presence and relevance in Counter-Strike.

Under the Brit, GamerLegion qualified for four of the last five Majors, finishing runners-up at the BLAST Paris Major 2023.

ash reveals intentions to review options

ash revealed the information on the HLTV Confirmed podcast, stating that he was looking for “new opportunities.”

Following a short introduction, ash spoke regarding his decision to look outside of GamerLegion, stating:

“I actually told GamerLegion that I would like to leave the organisation this month, and they’ve agreed to let me look for new opportunities.

I think that’s going to be announced pretty soon. It’s been a long time now, I think it’s been six, six and a half years now, so I think for me now, it’s probably a good time for me to move on.”

Co-host Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill asked whether the opportunity would be as a coach, or whether it would be outside of that space

The Brit responded:

“Oh, coaching. I’m just super passionate about coaching. That’s kind of all I want to do, the competitive side and everything.

For me, it’s no problem if they [a new org] said put YouTube on the back burner, don’t bother doing it, it’s not a problem at all.”

ash did not provide any further information regarding who he may be talking to, or whether an offer currently exists.

Regardless, the move is a significant change for the British coach, whose name was almost synonymous with the organisation.

ash expected to end a hugely successful period in GamerLegion

ash had led countless iterations of the roster, taking a lead in shaping the roster and developing young talent.

The peak of ash’s time at GamerLegion came as he led his young roster to the Grand Final of the BLAST Paris Major in 2023.

The roster, consisting of Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan, Isak ‘isak’ Fahlén, Frederik ‘acoR’ Gyldstrand, Nicolas ‘Keoz’ Dgus, and Kamil ‘siuhy’ Szkaradek.

However, the roster was picked apart immediately after, precipitating a complete rebuild as iM moved to NAVI and siuhy returned to Mouz.

The loss of notable players was a consistent pattern of ash’s time in the organisation, losing their star Timur ‘FL4MUS’ Marev to Virtus.pro after the 2024 season.

Despite the losses, ash’s reputation continued to grow as GamerLegion continued to develop in a positive direction in 2025.

With the rifling core of Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner, Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový, and Sebastian ‘Tauson’ Lindelof, GamerLegion had an excellent first half of last year.

The roster peaked at #8 in the VRS, despite missing the Austin Major. However, the second half of the year saw significant issues in the roster.

AWPing struggles saw the roster feature three AWPers in 2025, from Henrich ‘sl3nd’ Hevesi to Jeremy ‘Kursy’ Gast to Milan ‘hypex’ Polowiec.

The team looked flat and demotivated, as they embarrassingly crashed out of Stage 1 of the Budapest Major with a 1-3 record.

The British coach subsequently stepped down from the roster, citing burnout and being mentally affected by losses.

ash’s assistant coach, Adrian ‘imd’ Pieper has been coaching the roster since ash’s decision to step away from the game.

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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