Sources: 00NATION releases team as org pivots away from esports

The players are free to explore their options after the UK-based organization decided to shift its focus.

00NATION’s players have been released from their contracts as the UK-based organization is taking a step back from esports, sources with knowledge of the situation told HLTV. The team’s players, as well as head coach Faruk "⁠pita⁠" Pita, have reached agreements for the termination of their contracts by mutual consent and are now free to explore opportunities elsewhere.

The decision comes as 00NATION is pivoting away from esports and shifting its focus to other areas, with a heavier angle towards gaming and lifestyle. “00 is a crossover brand, combining music, fashion, sports, outdoors with gaming to create powerful communities with multiple passion points and deeper experiences for brands, talent and audiences across youth,” the home page on the company’s temporary website reads.

Originally based in Norway, 00NATION made a splash when they entered Counter-Strike esports in September 2021 with the signing of the Brazilian O PLANO lineup. Two months earlier, 00NATION had merged with Norwegian esports organization Nordavind “to form a global esports and youth culture powerhouse.”

It was only after acquiring the core of the GODSENT lineup in July 2022 that 00NATION began to make waves in the CS:GO scene. The team, headlined by two-time Major winners Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David and Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo, played at IEM Cologne 2022 and qualified for the IEM Rio Major, where it was eliminated in the Challengers Stage with a 0-3 record.

In the summer of 2023, 00NATION shut down their Brazilian operations and privoted pivoted to European Counter-Strike with an international team headlined by Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische and Jon "⁠JDC⁠" de Castro. That same year, the company also shifted its base to the UK.

First-place finishes in Pinnacle Cup V and European Pro League Season 11 were the only notable results of 00NATION’s European squad, which peaked at No.34 in the world rankings. The team couldn’t secure a spot in the closed qualifiers for the European RMRs, twice crashing out of the open qualifiers in the Round of 16.

Despite spending a considerable amount on buyouts when assembling the team, 00NATION is letting the players leave for free, allowing them to find new homes more easily as the Counter-Strike scene is about to enter a frantic period of transfer activity following the RMRs and the Copenhagen Major.

Earlier this week, Esports Insider reported that 00NATION purchased £500,000 (approximately $631,000) worth of shares in UK-based esports organisation Guild Esports, which has its own CS:GO team, in 2023. The ties between the two companies were only disclosed when Guild Esports reported its 2023 annual results.

In a press release, Guild said that it remains in "active negotiations" with 00NATION to deepen their strategic partnership. "Following its success in the wider space, 00Nation established a base in the UK in 2023, and will continue to focus on youth culture while partnering with Guild on professional esports," Guild said.

00NATION had the following team:

Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische
Jon "⁠JDC⁠" de Castro
Thomas "⁠birdfromsky⁠" Due-Frederiksen
Dion "⁠FASHR⁠" Derksen
Vladan "⁠VLDN⁠" Radević

Faruk "⁠pita⁠" Pita (coach)