Liquid upset Vitality in the opening round of the online BLAST Bounty with a 2-0 record, leaving Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's troops without an appearance at the LAN playoffs in Malta.
The loss thus ends Vitality's playoff streak that spanned across 24 events and started all the way back in January 2025, when the team aded Robin "ropz" Kool to their ranks.
FACEIT has announced that it will be handing out longer bans "for cheating, smurfing, stream sniping, and repeated or targeted abuse" with the launch of Season 9 on August 5.
"We are applying a more contextual approach for occasional offences so the ban more closely matches the offence," the company said.
"There is more room for trash talk, banter, harmless backing of your country or favorite sports team, and some profanity, as long as it doesn't progress into abuse."
You can find the new ban policy here.
Taking place from July 31-August 5 in Stockholm, the $60,000 tournament will be headlined by Liquid, who recently brought in Johnny "JT" Theodosiou and Georgi "Jorko" Mitev.
Stake Pulse Beat I will begin with a double-elimination BO3 group stage, followed by a single-elimination bracket with the top two teams from each group.
- HOTU
- G2 Ares
- EAC
- XCLAN
- Liquid
- atputies
- Betclic
- The Last Resort
- Acend
- 6666
- 9INE
- BRUTE
- Metizport
- fnatic
- Lilmix
- Johnny Speeds
After FUT beat SINNERS in BLAST Bounty Season 2 on debut with Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç, András "coolio" Fercsák spoke to the broadcast about the departure of Laurențiu "lauNX" Țârlea and xfl0ud's pre-match comments about having more of a voice in the team.
"We had an issue with lauNX with voice, like he wasn't really talkative," coolio told Donald "voo" Parkhurst. "And there was also some reason behind the change; it was like 50-50, I would say, it's not only [that] he wanted to leave.
"We were also looking to other players, and we were missing a guy who was speaking in the middle of the map, middle of the pack. Like if you look at the previous games, that's why we switched up some positions, and that's why dziugss was playing these kinds of roles. We missed that voice, and with the addition of Yasin [xfl0ud], he's able to communicate more."
The new Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski-led Aurora got off to a winning start in the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 Europe Closed Qualifier with wins over K27 and Nemesis.
While they were able to show their prowess on Nuke (13-3 and 13-2 victories), they had to work for both victories after losing their opponent's map pick.
In terms of individuals, Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo led the way with a 1.23 rating.
The European combine now await their opponents in the playoffs, set to begin on Saturday.
Luca "Luken" Nadotti has announced he is no longer under contract with Gaimin Gladiators and is open to new opportunities. The organization benched the entirety of its roster after the Cologne Major following a "strategic review" of its Counter-Strike program, and now has only Henrique "HEN1" Teles left on its books.
"Unfortunately, following the changes made by Valve regarding the stickers, the organization understood that the project was no longer profitable and the team could not be sustained," Luken said on X, before adding that the organization treated the team well.
Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato has announced that he has become a free agent following the end of his contract with Gaimin Gladiators.
The 30-year-old was moved to the organization's bench alongside the rest of its roster "after a strategic review into their Counter-Strike program," with Gaimin Gladiators pointing towards changes to the Major revenue model as part of the reason.
His departure leaves the team with just two players:
Henrique "HEN1" Teles (benched) Luca "Luken" Nadotti (benched)
100 Thieves have lost their first match with Jack "Gizmy" von Spreckelsen at the helm in the StarLadder StarSeries Fall Europe Closed Qualifier, getting sent down to the Group D elimination match after a narrow loss to Ninjas in Pyjamas in their opener.
The team will have to collect itself quickly as they are set to face Cologne Major champions Falcons in BLAST Bounty S2 later today.
Sashi
Frederik 'acoR' Gyldstrand
Casper 'Cabbi' Jensen
Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss
Mikkel 'MistR' Thomsen
Lukas 'Beccie' Bauder Balcells
Nicolai 'HUNDEN' Petersen
Imperial Valkyries
Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato
Georgi 'Jorko' Mitev
Acend
Teodor 'SPELLAN' Nikolov
Hristiyan 'REDSTAR' Pironkov
Kalin 'KalubeR' Erenditsov
Deyvid 'h4rn' Benchev
Dimitar 'Skrimo' Yanulov
Milen 'milky' Iliev
Metizport
Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz
Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora
Maciej 'F1KU' Miklas
David 'forsyy' Bílý
Liam 'MaiL09' Tügel
Vincent 'vinS' Jozefiak
Max 'maxster' Jansson
EAC
Frederik 'Fessor' Sørensen
Mikkel 'n1Xen' Borlund
Andreas 'anber' Brandt
Simon 'sSen' Solnæs Iversen
Tobias 'bekker' Bekker
Kenni 'wezx' Holmberg
Laurențiu 'lauNX' Țârlea
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
100 Thieves
Nicolai 'device' Reedtz
Håvard 'rain' Nygaard
Jack 'Gizmy' von Spreckelsen
William 'sirah' Kjærsgaard
Alex 'poiii' Nyholm Sundgren
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander
K27
Timur 'clax' Sabirov
Daniil 'X5G7V' Maryshev
Aleksey 'xeedo' Mikulich
Danila 'kashl1d' Dronov
Daniil 'qw1nk1' Kabilov
Gregory 'balblna' Oleinick
Simon 'yxngstxr' Boije
Betclic
Patryk 'Demho' Tomaszewski
Wojciech 'Prism' Zięba
Mateusz 'ex1st' Witman
Konrad 'Qlocuu' Klocek
Grzegorz 'SZPERO' Dziamałek
G2 Ares
Casper 'SHiNE' Wennerberg
Vilius 'tAk' Keserauskas
Artur 'hitori' Palyants
Julius 'Junyme' Meyhoff
Juho 'yksjupe' Viitasalo
Viacheslav 'innersh1ne' Britvin
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo
Falcons
Finn 'karrigan' Andersen
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
René 'TeSeS' Madsen
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov
Maksim 'kyousuke' Lukin
Danny 'zonic' Sørensen
Gaimin Gladiators
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Lukas 'Beccie' Bauder Balcells
Luca 'Luken' Nadotti
Lilmix
Max 'quix' Lindkvist
Jack 'Jackinho' Ström Mattsson
Jonathan 'b0denmaster' Bodenmalm
Leo 'Wonder' Wänlund
Rasmus 'dezt' Nyström
Phantom
Thomas 'TMB' Bundsbæk
Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidi
Kamil 'KEi' Pietkun
Kacper 'Kylar' Walukiewicz
Jan 'cej0t' Dyl
Dawid 'lunAtic' Cieślak
atputies
Donald 'voo' Parkhurst
FUT
Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç
Dmytro 'dem0n' Myroshnychenko
Aulon 'Krabeni' Fazlija
Nikita 'cmtry' Samolotov
Džiugas 'dziugss' Steponavičius
András 'coolio' Fercsák
Jack 'Gizmy' von Spreckelsen
Nemesis
Ivan 'SELLTER' Miroshnikov
Evgeny 'r3salt' Frolov
Alemkhan 'mag1k3Y' Moldakamalov
Philipp 'tex1y' Moskvitin
Daniil 'Sdaim' Tupov
Maksim 'NMV' Naumov
Anton 'Anlelele' Huynh
Alexander 'Altekz' Givskov
fnatic
Rodion 'fEAR' Smyk
Dmytro 'jambo' Semera
Nikita 'jackasmo' Skyba
Artem 'cairne' Mushynskyi
Volodymyr 'mazay' Iorhachov
Miks 'Independent' Siliņš
Vitality
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan
William 'mezii' Merriman
Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam
Mikkel 'MistR' Thomsen
Liquid
Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski
Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou
Georgi 'Jorko' Mitev
Viktor 'flashie' Tamás Bea
Casper 'Cabbi' Jensen
Frederik 'acoR' Gyldstrand
HOTU
David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan
Aidos 'kade0' Khairzhan
Dmitry 'mizu' Kondratev
Aleksandr 'dwushka' Pakhnevich
Kim 'frontales' Argunov
Rustem 'mou' Telepov
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Subtop De France
Matthieu 'Razzmo' Mellot
Maxime 'Revol' Desraisses
Akendi 'sanjoCRAKITO' Mellak
Charles 'XiMaa' Simon
Keller 'Supr3me' Hugo
Aurora
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Özgür 'woxic' Eker
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın
Ashley 'ash' Battye
ECSTATIC
Martin 'Sinzey' Rian Christensen
BRUTE
Jindřich 'ZEDKO' Chyba
Vít 'nbqq' Pohlot
Jane 'aidKiT' Apostoloski
Michal 'majky' Švancara
Oskar 'hfah' Wroński
André 'BARBARR' Möller
FaZe
David 'frozen' Čerňanský
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken
Jakub 'jcobbb' Pietruszewski
Jason 'JBOEN' Boe Nielsen
Niclas 'enkay J' Krumhorn
EYEBALLERS
Jesper 'JW' Wecksell
Freddy 'KRIMZ' Johansson
Max 'maxster' Jansson
Kalle 'Ro1f' Johansson
Sebastian 'dex' Samuelsson
Faruk 'pita' Pita
6666
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou
Kamen 'bubble' Kostadinov
9INE
Rasmus 'raalz' Steensborg
Tobias 'kraghen' Kragh Jensen
Maciej 'b1elany' Biliński
Alan 'flayy' Krupa
Emir 'rim3' Dönmez
Danny 'BERRY' Krüger
Johnny Speeds
William 'draken' Sundin
Hampus 'hampus' Poser
Ludvig 'HEAP' Alonso
SINNERS
Sebastian 'beastik' Daňo
Max 'SHOCK' Kvapil
Mădălin-Andrei 'MoDo' Mirea
Kamil 'kisserek' Banak
Jordan 'stressarN' Manevski
Jakub 'Bfull' Kokoška
Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç
Henrique 'HEN1' Teles
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Marco 'Snappi' Pfeiffer
Martin 'stavn' Lund
Rasmus 'sjuush' Beck
Roman 'n0te' Hamze
Kacper 'xKacpersky' Gabara
Richard 'Xizt' Landström
The Last Resort
Tom 'arTisT' Clarke
Matas 'Extinct' Strumila
Callum 'Girafffe' Jones
James 'bevve' Slinn
Mason 'Vacancy' Haines
Nicolai 'HUNDEN' Petersen
XCLAN
AM
Nils 'k1to' Gruhne
Alexander 'Altekz' Givskov
Max 'Marix' Kugener
Ville 'myltsi' Vilkman
Jonathan 'MusambaN1' Torrent
Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss
András 'coolio' Fercsák