Jason Lake Explains Complexity’s CS2 Exit After Two Decades in Counter-Strike
Iconic North American organization Complexity has announced its immediate exit from Counter-Strike 2, with four players from the active roster moving to Oleksandr Zinchenko-backed Ukrainian organization Passion UA.
It is the first time Complexity will be without an active CS team since 2014.
hallzerk will join Passion UA after Complexity’s exist Image Credit: PGL
Jason Lake’s Statement on the Future of Complexity
The announcement was made on X, coming in the form of a three-minute video posted by founder and CEO, Jason Lake, which addresses the economic difficulties of having a tier one CS team in 2025.
Given their standing as the biggest organization with a North American lineup, Complexity’s exit from CS2 hints at a potentially turbulent future for NA CS, especially given that the organization has been present at the last three CS Majors.
Complexity has a storied history in Counter-Strike, winning early tournaments such as ESWC 2005 and CPL Winter 2006.
However, success has been harder to come by in recent years. Variations of the lineup have won ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024, and made deep runs in seasons of ESL Pro League. The org also finished runner-up at IEM Sydney 2023, the first CS2 tournament.
The organization’s lack of cash has been made public, with the replacement of Jonathan “EliGE” Jabonowski with Danny “cxzi” Strzelczyk, viewed by fans as unambitious and a step backwards.
Replacing EliGE with cxzi was born out of necessity, after the costly move to buy the brand out from GameSquare following its acquisition of FaZe Clan.
nicx will be one of four players who will remain together Image Credit: ESL
Zinchenko-backed Passion UA Make Ambitious Move
The majority of Complexity’s roster will still have a home; nicx, Johnny “JT” Theodosiou, Michal “Grim” Vance, and Hakon “hallzerk” Fjaerli are all moving to Passion UA.
The move will also see them reunite with their former coach, Tiann “T.C” Coertzen, who departed Complexity in March.
Completing their new roster will be Vladyslav “Kvem” Korol, who has been a part of Passion UA since January and maintains the org’s Ukrainian presence.
This is a big leap of faith for the relatively unknown organization, which has financial backing from Arsenal player Oleksandr Zinchenko, that will likely see them guarantee qualification for the upcoming StarLadder Budapest Major.
Passion UA’s new squad is set to make their debut at DraculaN Season 1, which will kick off in Bucharest, Romania, on August 29th.
