“Absolute tragedy”: CS2 community reacts to Complexity leaving the scene

Leonardo Biazzi Published August 20, 2025

Complexity is leaving the CS2 scene indefinitely after selling Johnny “JT” Theodosiou, Michael “Grim” Wince, Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli, and Nick “nicx” Lee to Passion UA, due to financial constraints.

Jason Lake, founder of Complexity and current owner, explained why he made the difficult decision to depart CS2 esports altogether after the sale. Lake is a truly “esports OG”, having founded Complexity in 2003 and invested in Counter-Strike for over 20 years.

I know our fans are going to have a lot of questions, and honestly the answer is pretty simple. After a really strong ’23 and ’24, 2025 in the esports economy has been really challenging for us, and quite simply we have not been able to drive enough revenue to afford to properly support a tier-one team.

We could have probably dragged things out a bit longer, but we want to make sure we do right by our players and the division, and this was the right thing for us to do at this time.

We have tried everything and turned over every rock, searched for investment and revenue, but it’s just been an incredibly difficult time economically and with shrinking revenues this year, it kind of forced our hand.

These conditions mean that Complexity has “no immediate plans” to return to CS2. Jason Lake said the financial problems need to be solved first before Complexity signs a new roster.

As expected, the news came as heartbreaking, especially for the North American scene, since Complexity was one of the few popular esports orgs trying to support the region and nurture new talent.

CS2 community reacts to Complexity’s departure from Counter-Strike

Complexity leaving CS2 is terrible for NA, according to DarfMike. Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © BLAST

Mike “DarfMike” Winnick, a CS2 caster and host who regularly works on tier-one events, was one of the first to lament the news. In his opinion, Complexity’s exit from CS2 could spell bad news for the North American scene as a whole.

“It’s an absolute tragedy to lose Complexity,” DarfMike wrote on X. “It’s an absolute tragedy to lose Complexity. Tough day for the scene and a rough indicator of where the wind is blowing in NA. We will miss them.”

Bobby “stamina” Eitrem, a veteran Counter-Strike pro in North America, went as far as saying that “esports failed” Complexity, because the organization has done a lot of things right over the years.

“It just feels so wrong that Complexity has to pull out of CS,” stamina wrote on X. “We are talking about an org that has done so much right, especially the last couple of years. The way they listened to fans, the way they gave back to NA, qualifying for three straight majors. Esports failed coL.”

On top of all these saddening reactions, NRG’s Senior Director DchozN paid a beautiful homage by putting together a short video, mixing old and recent footage from Complexity in Counter-Strike esports. You can watch the video on DchozN’s X.

Feature image credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © BLAST