The rostermania following BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 will go down in history as one of the craziest of all time.
Many of the World's top teams made changes as they sought to either reach the top, or stay there in the wake of Counter-Strike 2's arrival.
Some made just one change, while others underwent full rebuilds, two teams even bid farewell to their national roots in favour of an international future in their quest for greatness.
Now two months and three events on from all of these changes, how are the teams getting on? Have any teams surprised us thus far? Are any leaving something to be desired?
Although Astralis didn't make a change to their core, the fact that their changes brought about a change in leadership is as good as.
With the addition of b0RUP and the long-rumoured arrival of Staehr becoming finalised, Astralis so far have looked stronger than they have in a year.
There's still some more to come from both Staehr and Buzz, but with device firing on all cylinders and with blameF not taking a dip in individual form since assuming the role of IGL, the team is flourishing. Qualifying for BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023 and the top four of IEM Cologne is a great start.
We're excited to see what the future holds.
A controversial decision in the eyes of the community, Vitality made the decision to cut dupreeh in favour of flameZ just two months after becoming the champions of the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
A move that was designed to secure the longevity of a roster that was already sitting comfortably within the elite teams in the world, their top four finish and first place finish at Gamers8 proves that the change hasn't been a step backwards.
Currently sitting pretty atop HLTV's team ranking, Vitality remain the best team in the world, and with flameZ now part of their team, they should stay there for the foreseeable future.
NAVI has historically always been home to a Ukrainian team, but with the talent pool drying up and electroNic and Perfecto choosing to depart for Cloud9, the organisation made the decision to go in a different direction.
The arrivals of Aleksib, jL, and iM were all unexpected, but off the back of recent form and their availability, all make sense.
It's unfortunate then, that we're thus far not entirely convinced by this roster. It's one that will clearly take time to gel, and there shouldn't be any rash decisions made if it takes longer than a team would normally allow, but we do worry if it will ever lead NAVI back to the true elite where they belong.
There's still a lot of time between now and Fall Final though, and with NAVI already securing their qualification, they could be a deadly force by then.
NAVI weren't the only team to say goodbye to their national roots, Liquid also left the NA scene behind as the transitioned to a European core in their own attempt to get back to the top.
While oSee and NAF remained to keep some tie to NA, the arrivals of Patsi and Rainwaker saw Liquid make the transition, and it was a move that began well as they took down both FaZe and G2 at Fall Groups.
Sadly, it's been downhill from there, and failure to qualify to Fall Final, as well as lacklustre IEM Cologne and Gamers8 placings have displayed that this team, just like NAVI's, has a long way to go in order to achieve their goals.
When OG announced a rebuild that would involve a returning nexa, regali joining permanently, and the addition of two role players from their immediate rivals who had ultimately failed on their most recent teams, there reactions from the community were, well, less than positive.
On the other hand, we thought they were cooking, and so far, we're happy to report that we stick by that assumption.
FASHR may still be needing to step up another gear, but k1to has proved that BIG may have acted hastily in getting rid of him, and regali looks to be a new star on the AWP.
True success in the form of winning trophies may be hard to come by for this team, but it won't be long before they're considered to be exceeding expectations if they aren't already doing so.
A team that experienced great highs in the online era, BIG had since gone off the boil following the return to LAN. With plenty of issues in their roster surrounding faveN, plus the departure of syrsoN, it was time for them to make changes, and they made big ones.
BIG put faith in their youth as they made those changes, promoting s1n and prosus from their academy team, with the idea being that the former will eventually take over the reigns of IGL from long-standing member, tabseN. Finally, they added mantuu, the former OG AWPer who had been without a team for a year.
It's hard to judge BIG yet, considering S3NSEY had to play instead of mantuu at IEM Cologne, but with a CCT win now under their belts, there's reason to believe this BIG team has some promise.
It would have been easy for Complexity to take the same route as Liquid and move away from North America, but with the addition of NA royalty in EliGE, they've only reinforced their faith in the region that they call home.
They may not have yet had the start they would have wanted, failing to impress at any event they've played thus far, but EliGE was never meant to be an instant solution.
Bringing in a player like EliGE brings in a lot of experience, and it takes a long time for that experience to rub off on players as comparatively inexperienced as those on Complexity. It will take time, but when that experience does rub off on the rest of the team, they'll make NA proud.
Let's be fair, it was about time Evil Geniuses made some extensive changes. A team who had endured no end to their struggles with their previous lineup, the off-season saw the realisation of their Blueprint Project as the EG Black team was promoted to the main squadron.
With only autmatic remaining from the old team, the changes saw HexT, junior, Walco and Jeorge all promoted, alongside their coach, Axed.
The project is a long-term one, and although many would have expected them to have been blown away by European opposition, but with close games against NIP and IEM Cologne winners G2, they may have surprised some people so far.
Ever since hampus stepped back from the NIP squadron, fans eagerly awaited his return. Now back in the IGL seat having returned in favour of Aleksib, things have gone pretty well so far.
In a shock win, NIP took down Vitality at Fall Groups in two maps to qualify for Fall Final, and in doing so, showed the peak this roster can have.
Sustaining that form is the next thing that needs to be addressed, but should they manage to do so, they'll be the best NIP lineup in years.
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