The summer break usually brings many exciting transfers that are discussed for months. A year ago, Cloud9 acquired Elec and Perfecto, while NAVI assembled an English-speaking roster. In 2022, Virtus.pro, Spirit, G2, and Ence also refreshed their lineups. However, June and July 2024 turned out to be the dullest transfer windows in recent years: teams made no changes.
Seriously, among the top 15 teams, there were only 2 replacements. It's as if there was no transfer window at all, and all teams unanimously agreed to simply spend a month on the beaches before continuing the season.
G2 strengthened, but there are many questions surrounding their lineup. The most significant changes happened in G2. After six months, Nexa (his arrival remains a huge mystery) and Huksy were removed from the team, and Malbsmd and Snax were brought in. However, both players brought along plenty of uncertainties. Malbsmd is a top-tier rifler, but in G2, he needs to switch to support and anchor roles previously held by Nexa and Jks because Hunter and Niko occupy key positions. The young player clearly won't show his full potential, although he currently looks much stronger than Hunter.
Snax replacing Huksy is an even more controversial move, with many pros and cons. The Pole is certainly very experienced, but as a captain, he hasn't achieved much. Huksy's departure was expected by many, but after that, they expected a new strong anchor, such as Perfecto, and another attempt by Niko to call the shots. Statistically, Snax is better than Huksy, but most of his matches were at the tier-3 level, so a drop in performance at top tournaments is quite expected.
It seems like G2 has strengthened, but there are too many uncertainties right now. At best, the team will finally be able to secure a spot in the top 3 globally; at worst, it definitely won't get worse.
Cloud9 focuses on the future. The new Cloud9 lineup was awaited for a long time. Very long. Unbearably long. As a result, a prospective team emerged: Icy and Heavygod rightfully received promotions, while Interz got another chance at the tier-1 level. However, analysts are confident that the team will need a lot of time to build a good game, and expecting success from them in the near future is not advisable.
The team is skipping ESWC, Cologne, the autumn EPL, and possibly the Major qualifiers. The only major tournament ahead is the Blast group stage - failure there will almost immediately put a damper on the next half-year. Unlike last year, when Cloud9 signed two top players, the lineup looks much more modest now.
Liquid picks strange players again. Liquid has once again picked a relatively unknown player from Europe. However, Overdrive quickly gave him a characterisation: "The team picked up Ultimate - a guy who played with a 'radar'." But Ultimate has a much more interesting biography: several years ago, he went through Pasha's summer camp, and Yaroslav even tried to push his student into Fnatic. After a few years, he unexpectedly reached the tier-1 level. Before him, Cadian was Liquid's sniper - far from the most stable player, so Ultimate has every chance to establish himself.
The team's second pick is much more interesting. After almost a year of inactivity in CS, Jks returns. In G2, he was an excellent link player - a glue player, but he hasn't played a single match since autumn.
In total, only three changes in major teams disappointed even other pro players. "I don't know who makes decisions about acquiring players in major organisations with money, but this transfer season looks very bad," wrote Woro2k. Like Perfecto, like Hooxi, like Dastan, they are now left without work for the remaining part of the season: teams no longer want to make changes because they are preparing for the Major.