Sources report that Gen.G has put its CS:GO lineup on the transfer list. The trio of Timothy “⁠autimatic⁠” Ta, Kenneth “⁠koosta⁠” Suen, and Hansel “⁠BnTeT⁠” Ferdinand alongside coach Chris “⁠Elmapuddy⁠” Tebbit will be able to explore other opportunities heading into the 2021 season.

The organization, best known for its League of Legends squad first entered CS:GO in December last year. The roster had a promising start with a victory at DreamHack Anaheim Open 2020 but gradually slowed down as tournament play switched online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Lackluster performances at DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 and ESL One: Cologne 2020 Online resulted in the team losing an up-and-coming superstar in  Sam “s0m” Oh and team captain Damian “daps” Steele, with both players opting to continue their professional careers in Valorant.

Although Gen.G recruited ample substitutes in the form of Rasmus “kreaz” Johansson and Counter-Strike legend Richard “Xizt” Landström, the team bombed out of the Flashpoint Season 2, failing to make it out of the group stage.

In the statement to Rush B, a representative from Gen.G stated that the decision had nothing to do with the team’s performance, nor that it was a case of “Valorant over CS:GO”.

“We want them to see any offers as we go in to 2021. We recognize that it has been a challenging period for professional CS, and we’re looking at how the scene develops into 2021. In the meantime, we wanted to make sure to minimize the impact on players, so we have allowed them to keep their options open while still under contract with us.” Additionally, “[Gen.G] are willing to waive buyouts if the player[s] wants to go somewhere.”

What’s next for the former Gen.G players?

With the exception of koosta, all of the soon-to-be-former Gen.G members expressed their desire to continue their respective careers in CS:GO.

Autimatic is definitely one of the hottest names on the North American CS:GO market currently.

With 2020 coming to an end Gen.G has allowed me to look at my options for the 2021 season. I'm looking to continue AWPing and show what I can really do and I'm willing to live in NA and EU. Contact me via DM or [email protected]

— Timothy Ta (@autimaticTV) December 15, 2020

Although the player announced that he would “like to continue AWPing” heading into 2021, he has left his ultimate fate ambiguous.

“Just to clear some things up, for the time being, I’m looking to stay in CSGO. I’ve loved and played this game for more than half of my life and want to continue if I can. However, I’ll be playing some Valorant in the next coming weeks to try it out and make my decision then.”, autimatic added.

BnTeT on the other hand confirmed that he will be staying faithful to Valve’s FPS heading into the future.

hi everyone,, as already said GenG allowed me to look for other option. I'm willing to live in EU/NA to pursue my dream and I'm open to any CS:GO offer, feel free to msg me via DM or email [email protected] 😁

— Hansel Ferdinand (@BnTeTCSGO) December 15, 2020

Is North American CS:GO on its last legs?

With many top tier North American organizations opting to take a step back from the competitive CS:GO scene, things are looking fairly grim for the future of the NA scene.

The number of top North American CS:GO players making the switch to Valorant is increasing every day. With the region’s best teams like Evil Geniuses and FURIA having already moved to Europe for the BLAST tournament series, the level of competition is seemingly at an all-time low.

With a depleting talent pool, a limited number of opportunities, and a scene on the brink of collapse, Gen.G’s exodus from the NA scene seems like another nail in the coffin.

Gen.G joins a list of organizations that includes the likes of 100 Thieves, NRG, and Team SoloMid that have all seemingly all but given up on the scene, opting to invest money into Valorant whilst not fielding an active CS:GO roster.

North America’s salvation might come with the end of the current pandemic, but will it be too little too late by then?