spiker, CyberFocus leave Empire

The departures come after a frustrating campaign at the offline qualifier for ESL One Cologne, where Empire were one of the first teams to be sent home, following defeats against Cloud9, dignitas and Immortals.

Empire's remaining players, Sergey "⁠spaz⁠" Skrypchik, Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov and Emil "⁠kUcheR⁠" Akhundov, are currently competing in ESEA Premier under the name ANOXmix, but it is unclear if they have also left the organisation, who ventured into Counter-Strike in January with the signing of the roster known as Rebels.

Before the CIS Minor Championship, Empire made headlines as they signed kUcheR. With the former HellRaisers member, the team finished second at the Minor to book their spot at the offline qualifier for the next $1 Million Valve-sponsored tournament.

In a statement to Empire's website, Roman "⁠CyberFocus⁠" Dergach admitted to being "very pleased" with the level the team reached during his time on the roster and added that he is currently assessing his options."

Empire currently have the following trio:

Sergey "⁠spaz⁠" Skrypchik
 Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov
 Emil "⁠kUcheR⁠" Akhundov