OG put academy project on hold

The OG Academy players have been released or made available for transfer at no cost.

OG have become the second notable organization to halt their academy project after announcing the release of three OG Academy players on Friday. They follow in fnatic's steps, who decided against renewing the contracts for fnatic Rising players earlier in January while they assessed their place in the junior circuit.

Arbnor "⁠Dementor⁠" Pacolli, Alexandru "⁠s0und⁠" Ștefan, and Blagoi "⁠oxygeN⁠" Dimitrov are released as free agents while Max "⁠Marix⁠" Kugener remains contracted with the organization. The Luxemburger rifler will continue to be listed as a substitute for the senior roster; however, OG have stated their intent to not ask for a buyout fee for Marix in case of interest from other organizations.

Coach Christian "⁠crisby⁠" Schmitt will transition into an analyst role for the main squad as OG look to strengthen their coaching staff with his "experience and thoroughness."

OG announced their intention to enter the academy circuit in April 2022 before making their official entry with OG Academy the following month. The project was overseen by crisby, a veteran of the German Counter-Strike scene who coached the side through three seasons of the WePlay Academy League.

OG Academy tackled Seasons 4 and 5 of the WePlay junior tournaments and placed 7-8th in both events before their first roster change. Bulgarian AWPer Kaloyan "⁠shaiK⁠" Borisov was replaced by fellow countryman Slaven "⁠AwaykeN⁠" Lyubenov in October, and the team felt an immediate boost as they marginally improved their performances at WePlay with a 5-6th placement in Season 6.

Read more

OG unveil academy roster featuring Marix

AwaykeN's tenure with the team was short-lived and the Bulgarian marksman parted ways with OG Academy on January 6, leaving the organization after a three-month partnership.

"When I joined OG, one of the core initiatives was to focus on the growth of talent within the organization. WePlay provided us, like they have with so many others, a great opportunity to showcase the stars of tomorrow and we are extremely grateful," read the statement from Mike Schwartz, OG's head of esports.

"We’ve learned a great deal over the past nine months, and I’m confident that we will return in the future with a more robust and impactful academy project, not just for CS:GO, but other teams as well."

The players being released are:

Alexandru "⁠s0und⁠" Ștefan
Arbnor "⁠Dementor⁠" Pacolli
Blagoi "⁠oxygeN⁠" Dimitrov

Meanwhile, OG will temporarily become:

Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan
Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas
Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar
Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov
Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković

Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (coach)

Max "⁠Marix⁠" Kugener (substitute)