The recent changes in the CS2 competitive scene have sparked a domino effect, starting with the Falcons acquiring the core of HEROIC. This move set off a chain reaction that pulled multiple teams into the shuffle. No one wants to lose their Valve ranking, as it’s the only way to secure invites to major tournaments. Let’s break down how one transfer led to a series of unexpected roster changes.

Falcons make the first move

The first domino to fall was when Falcons acquired the core of HEROIC: René "TeSeS" Madsen, Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski, and Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov. Falcons saw an opportunity to strengthen their roster and went for it. This buyout left HEROIC scrambling to keep their position in the Valve rankings. They needed to rebuild quickly to maintain their spot and tournament invites.

HEROIC buys Sangal's core

To avoid losing their ranking, HEROIC made a bold move. They purchased the core of Sangal, acquiring Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç, Simon "yxngstxr" Boije, and Linus "LNZ" Holtäng. This decision was driven by the need to maintain a stable roster and secure ongoing tournament invites. It wasn’t just about finding good players but about keeping the team’s ranking intact.

However, the real challenge began after the buyout. Merging a new core and keeping up the team’s standards wasn’t easy. HEROIC needed to blend their existing structure with Sangal’s playstyle, which proved harder than expected.

Sangal buys Permitta’s core

The domino effect didn’t stop there. After losing their core to HEROIC, Sangal didn’t want to be left out either. They needed to bounce back, and fast. With the funds from the HEROIC buyout, Sangal first brought the roster with Buğra "Calyx" Arkın. But without VRS invites it struggled to develop, so they continued the domino effect. 

To the recently purchased Bartosz "bnox" Niebisz they added Martin "maaryy" Nakonieczny, and Bartłomiej "mASKED" Trybuła from ESC to reunite the Permitta core. This lineup didn’t have a high Valve ranking but still offered a way to stay relevant. At the time of purchase, they held the 47th spot, just enough to secure a spot at the PGL Astana 2025 closed qualifiers.

NIP's risky approach

While these moves were happening, another team made a completely different choice. NIP decided to start from scratch rather than buying out a core. This decision backfired badly. Despite their efforts to rebuild from the ground up, they struggled immensely.

They tried to use wildcard invites and fought their way through qualifiers, but the results were poor. NIP currently holds the 185th spot in the Valve ranking. Ironically, even with a seemingly stronger roster, they are far behind teams like HEROIC and Sangal. Their attempt to go the hard way didn’t pay off, highlighting the risk of completely rebuilding without an established core.

The harsh reality of Valve Rankings

These roster shuffles are not just about strengthening lineups; they are about preserving ranking spots. Valve’s ranking system has created an environment where teams prefer to buy out existing cores rather than risk building from scratch. It’s the easiest way to maintain stability and tournament invites.

But the downside is obvious: it’s risky. Falcons are not showing the best results now than HEROIC did at the end of last year. HEROIC, they are not as stable, not as grouped as Sangal was at the end of last year. Although they have improved at all stages, two stronger players and a much stronger coach have been added to the three, but it's not working the way it should be. It is also obvious that Sangal will not be able to demonstrate the same results as the mono-national Polish Permitta team, because now there is an English-speaking team with different players, with a new coach, and it will also be very difficult to work.

Will this trend continue?

The domino effect we’re seeing now is likely to become a recurring pattern. Teams that can afford it will buy proven cores instead of taking the risk of starting from scratch. It’s faster, simpler, and seemingly more reliable. But as we’ve seen, it doesn’t always work out as planned.

Valve’s current ranking system doesn’t incentivize new teams to build from the ground up. Instead, it pushes them to purchase existing lineups to keep their spot on the ladder. Unless Valve makes changes to this system, we will likely see more domino effects like this in the future.

The transfer window has turned into a race to buy stability rather than build it. Teams that dare to go against the trend, like NIP, risk falling into irrelevance. Meanwhile, organizations like Falcons, HEROIC, and Sangal are taking shortcuts, hoping it will pay off. Only time will tell if this trend will prove successful or lead to more instability in the CS2 competitive scene.