On the 28th of December, Verdant announced that they had chosen not to renew the contracts of their Counter-Strike roster. The roster, whose core have been with the organisation since October of 2023, had dominated the domestic scene for much of 2024 but their last season as part of the organisation was characterised by constant role switches and early exits from European competitions. The roster is now searching for a new home with Verdant shifting their focus to their League of Legends division.
It’s been an incredible 15 months, filled with over 1,000 games, many a LAN event and six trophies!
As we close out the year we’re also saying thank you and goodbye to our Counter-Strike roster.
We wish them all the best of luck as they enter a new chapter in 2025. pic.twitter.com/CBB4JxfXXi
— Verdant (@VerdantEC) December 28, 2024
Ironically, the roster had just recently achieved their best European result with the organisation, having won European Pro League Season 18 Division 2 on Christmas Eve. The organisation’s decision to release the roster was likely made weeks or even months before that result, which was evidently not enough to sway the organisation into retaining the roster.
As one of UK CS’s only salaried teams, Verdant’s roster had claimed a series of victories in British events in 2024. They achieved back-to-back victories in both UKIC League Seasons 3 & 4 and at EPIC.LAN 42 & 43, as well as winning what turned out to be the final iteration of Insomnia in March.
WE ARE YOUR @UKICircuit SEASON 4 CHAMPIONS!
After a 42 round game of Inferno, we take it home.
Massive GG’s to @Belfaststorm @csgoleaff
@ExtinctCS2
pic.twitter.com/wrBB3ZBYCV
— Verdant (@VerdantEC) December 7, 2024
However, that domestic form was not enough to paper over the cracks of the latter half of the year. Verdant consistently exited European competitions in the early stages of the events, where their performances frequently looked disjointed. Verdant struggled to find stability as their roster experimented with positional changes, which were destabilised by the constant need for varying stand-ins.
In the 2nd quarter of the year, Verdant were bolstered by the signing of young French AWPer, Remi “Diviiii” Alexandre. The French AWPer’s flashy, proactive style proved a basis for Verdant’s success while IGL Tom “arTisT” Clarke moved to rifling. Despite that, Verdant’s results plateaued and then began to regress as the year proceeded.
Diviiii, who did not play with Verdant in the UKIC Season 4 final, became the first to leave on the 16th of December as he parted with the organisation. With the main roster consistently playing with former GamerLegion Academy rifler, Oliver “leaf” Jackson, Verdant’s roster appeared to have recovered somewhat after months of chopping and changing roles.
Free agent, ready to grind ! pic.twitter.com/7EOlSZdIQt
— Diviiii (@Diviiiicsgo) December 16, 2024
In progress through the groups of United 21 Season 24, and winning European Pro League, the roster had its first signs of recovery in Europe for quite some time. Having found a reliable fifth, and with arTisT once again bedding into AWPing duties, the roster are now looking to stay together as a five as they try to attract a new organisation.
For Verdant, there are no immediate signs of a return to Counter-Strike following confirmation from their CEO Sami Cunningham that they will be focusing on NLC – the League of Legends’ regional competition – where popular streamer Marc “Caedrel” Lamont’s new organisation, Los Ratones, will bring fresh attention to the competition.
Verdant at time of release were:
Tom “arTisT” Clarke
Callum “Girafffe” Jones
Mason “Vacancy” Haines
Matas “Extinct” Strumila
Oliver “leaf” Jackson (Stand-in)
Ciaran “Biscu” King (coach)
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