Counter-Strike

Dust2.us reported that Leroy “OrangeZ” Burns has left DETONATE, stepping down as coach of the team's ESEA Advanced lineup after two months. He had joined in July as a replacement for Taylor “ioRascal” Hays and previously coached Zomblers and within the Australian scene. OrangeZ told Dust2.us he left to reassess his options and is looking for coaching opportunities to grow, and he complimented IGL Matthew “tatm” Munro’s prospects. Dust2.us also noted DETONATE recently entered the NA VRS Top 20 following a strong showing at FRAG Midwest: St. Louis, an event OrangeZ did not attend because he is based in Australia.

Esports.gg reports G2 and Legacy faced each other in the grand final of the Counter-Strike 2 FISSURE Playground #3, held Sept. 8–13 in Suzhou, China. The tournament featured 16 teams and used a group stage (Sept. 8–10) followed by single-elimination playoffs (Sept. 11–13). Esports.gg says the event was postponed from April and revived through a new partnership with GGMEDIA, a move that delayed two other tournaments run by the same organizer. The article lists top entrants including G2, FURIA, Legacy and FaZe and notes the grand final was streamed on Kick’s fissure_cs_a channel.

At BLAST Open Porto 2026, sh1ro collected his fifth EVP of the year while Spirit emerged as the firm world number one. Danil “donk,” age 19, earned his thirteenth MVP and posted standout numbers across the event, including a 1.62 group-stage rating and a 2.32-rated Ancient versus MOUZ. He also produced 118 ADR in the 11‑1 first half on Nuke against Falcons and finished the event with 0.91 KPR, 1.25 KPRW and positive round swings in 52.4% of rounds.

Sixteen invited lineups will take part in the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 closed qualifier for a sole berth at the $1,000,000 Malta LAN. The field features established European sides such as HEROIC and 100 Thieves plus Ninjas in Pyjamas, who enter the qualifier with new in-game leader Karim "Krimbo" Moussa. Two teams, Wildcard and BESTIA, represent regions outside Europe (North America and South America respectively). The tournament's remaining seven main-event slots will be allocated via invites from the VRS event on August 3.

HLTV published its Week 36 Counter-Strike short-news roundup and introduced a new on-site Prospects portal. The Prospects home is reachable via a direct link or from the Players menu on the top bar. A sidebar lets visitors browse all past editions to view monthly spotlights, risers and fallers. The short news also directs readers to Week 35 for additional coverage.

Aulon Krabeni has extended his contract with Turkish organization FUT, joining teammates Dmytro 'dem0n', Džiugas 'dziugss' and András 'coolio' who had already renewed. His inclusion ends earlier speculation about his omission from the initial wave of extensions. FUT recently added Yasin 'xfl0ud' in place of Laurențiu 'lauNX' and reached the grand final of the Esports World Cup. Nikita 'cmtry' Samolotov remains the only NAVI Junior graduate still on his original deal as the squad prepares for PGL Masters Bucharest, where they previously won their first trophy this year.

The single-game fantasy for FISSURE Playground 3 has opened and allows users to build teams on the event's Fantasy page. The event runs two eight-team double-elimination groups feeding a six-team single-elimination playoff, with quarter-finals and semi-finals as BO3 and a BO5 grand final. Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski is the most-picked player at $195k, appearing on more than 40% of fantasy rosters after a recent rise in his rating despite earlier underperformance affecting his price. The BO5 grand final awards 25% more rating points than regular BO3 games, and the third-place decider will not be included in the fantasy game because it is not added to HLTV.

Nikita “tenzy” Kochenyuk says magic’s fourth-place finish in Astana boosted the squad’s confidence and led to invitations to BLAST Bounty and the EWC. He credited frank conversations and letting emotions show on stage for turning a 0–2 start in Astana into a playoff appearance. A lengthy break disrupted the team’s momentum and, in tenzy’s view, hampered their EWC result even as he earned an EVP award there. magic are now in Suzhou as FUT’s replacement for FISSURE Playground 3, and tenzy stressed the need for more time together to rebuild consistency.

Casper “ruggah” Due, 38, has announced his retirement from coaching after over ten years working behind Counter-Strike teams. His résumé includes an EPICENTER title with Dignitas and coaching stints at North, OpTic, OG and most recently Astralis. Astralis released him following a poor showing at the IEM Cologne Major and replaced him with Filip “NEO” Kubski; he did not join another team over the summer. He served as a pundit on the BLAST Open Porto desk and made the retirement announcement a day after that event finished.

Argentinian rifler Tomas "tomaszin" Corna has joined MIBR and will make his first LAN appearance with the new roster at FISSURE Playground 3 in Suzhou. The team completed only one week of training together ahead of the event. Tomaszin said switching languages after three years with BESTIA was his biggest adjustment and that he is adapting to different positions and more experienced teammates. MIBR face The MongolZ in their opening match on 08/09/2026.

Spirit secured back-to-back event victories with a win at BLAST Open Porto under coach Boris “magixx” Vorobiev. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets received another HLTV MVP award, edging teammate Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov for the honour. The Porto final completed revenge over MOUZ, who had beaten Spirit at BLAST Bounty S2 earlier this season. Donk said the roster is not yet at its top level and pointed to their next tournament in Katowice as the next test.

Danil “donk” Kryshkovets was named HLTV x 1xBET MVP of BLAST Open Porto after guiding Spirit to their second straight trophy following the Esports World Cup. The 19-year-old posted a 1.61-rated group stage and finished the event with a 1.40 average rating and 1.24 kills per round in wins. He overtook teammate Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov late in the final with a momentum-shifting Ancient map three and a solid Nuke finish while sh1ro cooled off. The BLAST Open Porto medal is donk’s 10th Big Event MVP, putting him ahead of NiKo.

Spirit beat MOUZ 3-1 to win BLAST Open Porto, completing back-to-back tournament victories after their recent Esports World Cup triumph. The world number one gained revenge after losing to MOUZ in the BLAST Bounty final roughly one month earlier. The grand final opened on Dust2, where Spirit targeted MOUZ’s B site vulnerabilities and prompted visible frustration from MOUZ’s anchor. The win was framed around Danil Kryshkovets’s ambition for Spirit to dominate the CS scene and follows a period in which Vitality and Falcons have not maintained previous form.

Spirit defeated MOUZ to win the BLAST Open Porto grand final on 6 September 2026, claiming the trophy again. donk was awarded his 13th MVP and twice declined to lift the trophy. The match produced several highlight plays: a massive donk spraydown on Ancient, xertioN’s 1v3 on Mirage, a lightning-fast sh1ro flick that ended D2, and zont1x following Glock shenanigans with a MAC-10 4K, while MOUZ also lost a 5v2. magixx said the team reset after Mirage by communicating more and drinking water.

fnatic and Nemiga each won the closed qualifier to claim the final spots at Stake Ranked Episode 4. They join FaZe and Astralis on the main event roster. The tournament carries a $100,000 prize pool, so both teams will compete for a share of that total.

Chilean rifler HUASOPEEK is studying the entry techniques of players kyousuke and donk to improve his performance in the entry role. He reviews how other entry players execute the job and incorporates that experience into his own practice. Improving his entry work targets better opening kills and stronger round control for his team.

FL1T said Jame's ideas are stronger and more thought out than before. FL1T, PARIVISION's Russian rifler, is taking on increased responsibility mentoring the team's younger players. Those veteran contributions change how PARIVISION distributes leadership and tactical input within the roster.

FISSURE Playground 3 is a Chinese esports event and the third edition of the Playground series. The published guide compiles details on participating teams, tournament format, match schedule, prize distribution and the event’s fantasy game. This information helps fans track who’s playing, when matches happen and how prize and fantasy rewards are allocated.

MOUZ player xelex says the team is "doing their talking on the server" and is confident ahead of MOUZ's grand final match against Spirit. MOUZ earned the final berth after recent wins over several top squads, which xelex highlighted as proof of form. The upcoming match will decide the tournament champion and could solidify MOUZ's standing among elite teams.

The BLAST Open Porto semi-finals were played at Porto’s Super Bock Arena, featuring the tournament’s top four teams. Live coverage tracked both matches as the two winners secured spots in the event final. Those results set the finalists who will compete for the BLAST Open Porto title.

MOUZ eliminated Vitality to advance to the final in Porto. They will play Spirit in a rematch of the BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals. The winner of that match will take the tournament trophy in Porto.

Falcons player NiKo said the squad failed to translate the morale boost from their Major victory into consistent play. He described that failure as a partial reason for the team's slow start to the current season and said the confidence hurt them more than it helped. The comments point to internal performance issues that have affected Falcons' early results.

Spirit defeated Falcons 2-0 in the BLAST Porto semifinal to advance to the final. The Russian roster has now reached its third consecutive final. The victory sends Spirit into the BLAST Porto title match and gives them a shot at the event trophy.

HLTV is running live coverage of the BLAST Open Porto semi-finals taking place at the Super Bock Arena in Porto. The tournament’s top four teams are competing across two matches to decide which sides advance to the final. Live updates provide real-time scores and highlight decisive moments from the arena.

Vitality played with stand-in jL while the team was in a period of poor form. XTQZZZ said the squad was "really happy to have something new" and that the team saw potential positives in the new combination. The lineup change was introduced to try fresh approaches and address the team's recent results.

HEROIC and B8 advanced through the closed qualifier to secure the final two berths at IEM Beijing. Their qualifications complete the tournament's roster, filling out the full field of competing teams. Both squads will now take part in the IEM Beijing main event.

The BLAST Porto quarter-finals were played at Porto’s Super Bock Arena as the first round of playoffs. Eight teams contested the quarter-final matches, with winners advancing to the semi-finals and losers eliminated from the event. Live coverage provided ongoing match updates and set the semi-final lineup that determines the remaining title contenders.

Vitality, led by apEX, dropped the opening map Nuke but rallied to win the next two maps and take the series 2-1. The victory sends Vitality into the BLAST Porto semi-finals. The comeback keeps Vitality in contention for the tournament title.

Falcons beat G2 to advance to the Porto semifinals. Falcons' individual performances set the tone and carried the team to victory. The result is Falcons' fourth consecutive win over G2 since m0NESY switched to G2, underscoring Falcons' recent edge in the matchup.

Spirit's back-to-back titles in Porto under coach magixx and another MVP from donk dominated the headlines, consolidating them as world No.1. Off the server, a crowded competitive calendar — from FISSURE Playground 3 to the Thunderpick closed qualifier — plus coaching exits and late signings leave several teams juggling form and preparation.