Gaimin Gladiators have confirmed a full Counter-Strike 2 roster overhaul following their early exit from IEM Cologne Major 2026.
Gaimin Gladiators Remove Entire CS2 Roster
Gaimin Gladiators announced the benching of their Counter-Strike 2 team following a last-place finish at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026.
The benching of Gabriel “NEKIZ” Schenato, Henrique “HEN1” Teles, and Luca “Luken” Nadotti, along with the departure of Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, effectively leaves Gaimin Gladiators without an active CS2 roster.
These changes follow the recent departures of coach João “horvy” Horvath and Jhonatan “JOTA” Wilian, who left the team last week but have yet to find new homes.
While the departure of two key members already pointed to major changes, Monday’s moves confirmed that Gaimin Gladiators are looking to completely restructure their CS2 division.
In the statement, Gaimin Gladiators explained that the decision was made in response to recent changes in the Major ecosystem and revenue structure.
Notably, under the new revenue model, teams that finish last at Majors receive just 0.72% of sticker sales revenue, although the actual payout is reportedly significantly smaller.
Ushered in by financial struggles, the major roster overhaul does not indicate the end of Gaimin Gladiators’ involvement in Counter-Strike.
As stated, GG are “committed to building a competitive and sustainable future” and will provide further updates about the future of their CS2 division.
Gaimin Gladiators entered the Counter-Strike scene in August 2019, disbanded their team in late 2022, and returned to the scene with Counter-Strike 2 in April 2024.
Over the last two years, however, Gaimin Gladiators have not found any notable success. Their biggest accomplishment of 2026 was qualifying for the IEM Cologne Major as the oldest team at the tournament.
In Germany, GG placed last with defeats to BetBoom Team, BIG, and HEROIC in Stage 1, ending their campaign with a -36 round differential.
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
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