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Dire Wolves CS:GO squad to depart organization following conclusion of their contracts

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Dire Wolves’ CS:GO roster, led by Benson “Liki” Niuila, is set to depart the Australian-based organization at the end of the month according to sources close to the team. The roster’s contracts currently expire at the end of the month and no agreement has been reached for a renewal. According to one source, negotiations were partially unable to materialize into anything as the players have felt the organization had previously lacked commitment to the team.

Rush B Media has learned that the roster wishes to stick together, however, it is unclear where their future lies as they are yet to find a new organization to call home. The team’s coach, Matthew “dayV1D” David, will also be parting ways with five players as he looks for other opportunities.

In a statement provided by Craig Nimmo — General Manager of Dire Wolves, when questioned on the future of the organization in CS:GO, he said that “[they] would certainly be interested in bringing in another line up in a developmental capacity”.

He also goes on to say that a large concern for the organization is the “lack of opportunity in the current climate that CS:GO does not provide in the region”. Adding that “the tournament structures, organizers, and the wider scene do not provide the opportunities [that] organizations need to build audiences and partner opportunities for exposure at the cost for which a team of players expects”.

“Comparatively to other esports in Oceania, CS:GO simply does not deliver eyeballs, have consistent coverage, nor [have a] want for content; thus where Dire Wolves wants to ensure its partners are seeing value in the esports we are involved in, this simply does not translate for CS:GO”. He concludes by saying “CS:GO is still an esports we would like to [..] have a foothold in, however at the top level with a team that perceives their value to be what current players are expecting is just not sustainable [..] when a return on investment is analysed”.

The roster was acquired by Dire Wolves earlier this year in February as part of the takeover and merger of AVANT Gaming — another Australian organization that hosted an earlier iteration of the roster since 2019. Since the acquisition, the squad has peaked at #74 in June on the HLTV.org global rankings, and as of the 23rd of August 2021, they sit at #4 in the Oceanic rankings behind Renegades, EXTREMUM, and ORDER. The most recent change that the roster experienced dates back to July with the departure of Jay “soju_j” Jeong and the addition of Mike “ap0c” Aliferis.

The most notable results for the side since they began representing Dire Wolves came in the form of back-to-back 1st place placements in seasons seven and eight of the LPL Pro League with grand final wins over both The Chiefs and Paradox respectively. The predominantly Australian line-up has also recently had a strong start to the ESEA Premier season, taking a 2-0 victory over Rooster in their opening fixture in Group A of the ANZ division of the competition. They also sit 3-0 in the Swiss stage of ESL ANZ Champs alongside ORDER going into Stage 2 as top seeds.

The roster as it will sit next month:

  • 🇦🇺 Jared “HaZR” O’Bree
  • 🇳🇿 Euan “sterling” Moore
  • 🇦🇺 Benson “Liki” Niuila
  • 🇦🇺 James “SaVage” Savage
  • 🇦🇺 Mike “ap0c” Aliferis
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