In what has been a horror week for Oceanic Counter-Strike, The Chiefs have announced their departure from CS:GO, just days after Dire Wolves stepped back from the esport.
Rifler Daryl “Mayker” May confirmed the departure on Twitter.
The line-up is currently competing in ESL ANZ Champs Season 13 and ESEA Premier Season 38, and will most certainly look to qualify for IEM Fall and DreamHack Open ANZ later this month.
Chiefs chief executive Nick Bobir thanked the line-up, and confirmed an explanation around today’s announcement would be released in coming days.
The Chiefs have been a staple of Oceanic CS:GO for more than seven years. In that time, the organisation has developed a majority of the region’s best and brightest; a bulk of the region’s pro Counter-Strike scene came through the Chiefs system, with many still competing in CSGO or rival title Valorant today.
For many, the high water mark of the Chiefs’ Counter-Strike involvement came in 2017’s IEM Sydney. At the local event, then-captain Tyler “tucks” Reilly led the team to one of the greatest underdog runs in regional history, with the Chiefs dismantling Renegades 16-5 and defeating North 16-13 on their way to a fifth place finish.
While the team’s departure spells the end of this era of The Chiefs in the esport, it’s not without saying they’ll be gone for good. The organisation have previously taken short hiatuses in CS:GO, but have remained committed to the esport over the years.
The Chiefs exit puts an unmissable full stop on a week to forget for Counter-Strike players and fans alike in the Oceanic region.
Between the departure of two major organisations, a further blow was dealt to those hopeful of a positive outcome for their ESIC bans.
ESIC commissioner Ian Smith appeared on HLTV Confirmed earlier this week, and confirmed the worst for a number of the accused who had been waiting months for a decision on their appeals.
“Some of [the ban appeals] are emotionally valid but are not legally valid, and I can’t change precedent because of emotion,” said Smith.
“There were guys who innocently placed bets in contravention of the codes that they were subject to, and there were guys that were match-fixing. There’s that whole spectrum, and trying to deal with that fairly and proportionately has been difficult.
“It’s taken longer than it should have. I have a ton of sympathy for some of these individuals, but at one end of the spectrum we’ve got guys who were knowingly engaged in corrupt activity, and this is why we’re still talking to New South Wales and Victoria Police — it’s ultimately a criminal case.”