11 months after 8Sins entered UK CS, they have announced they will be exiting Counter-Strike.
The team will not continue to play as this announcement comes alongside Andrew “Wolfie” Allan, John “Dutchy” Holland and Matthew “moz” Gelder retiring from competitive CS. Rupert Hoop‘s departure has already been made public, while William “wfn” Maskrey and Antal “Cher1on” Lubbers have both received offers, but the details of which are not yet public.
The highlights over the last 11 months come from a third-place finish at EPIC.LAN 43 and grand final appearances at EPIC.LAN 44 and UKIC Season 5 Division 1. Both finals, they faced off against HAWAII, then ALASKA, and unfortunately lost in an excruciatingly close 1-2 fashion.
Internationally, 8Sins have had great success as they consistently appeared on HLTV in tournaments like European Pro League Season 27 and Winline Insight Season 7. They even peaked at #132 in the world on the VRS. In ESEA, they participated in Main and were only one win away from making ESEA Advanced in Season 53.
8Sins after beating NXT in the group stage of EPIC.LAN 45
It felt like the team was on the rise after they signed the heavy-hitting Dutch rifler Cher1on to replace EPIC.LAN 44 MVP Michael “Prime” John Fury, and Metizport’s ex-sports psychologist, Rupert Hoop, as head coach. The first outing together was at EPIC.LAN 45 were they finished 5-6th, the second highest UK team, getting knocked out by familiar faces, HAWAII, then NXT.
Unfortunately, since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. Locally, 8Sins didn’t manage to qualify for the inaugural UKIC Masters finals after they were once again beaten by HAWAII in the semi-finals. Alongside that, after being one win away from making ESEA Advanced last season, 8Sins got relegated this season to ESEA Intermediate just a couple of days ago.
8Sins over the last 11 months have been a staple of UK CS, notably being the only team that has been able to consistently contend against Tom “arTisT” Clarke this year. However, their legacy will be tainted by their inability to get past that very team. On so many occasions, 8Sins looked like they would dethrone the kings of UK CS, but they could never get it over the line. Now that the organisation have left the scene, and this roster is not going to continue, who will be the next team to actually challenge HAWAII?
UKCSGO understands that 8Sins’ decision to leave UK CS comes from the fact that there is not enough return on investment for an organisation. They join the likes of Endpoint, which left the scene in the last year due to a lack of sustainability.
The British organisation has left UK CS, but doesn’t close the doors on a future team if the right opportunity comes up. They have confirmed to UKCSGO that they will also be scouting in European CS.
UKCSGO reached out to Zacharias Pierce, Founder & CEO of 8Sins, about their departure from the scene.
It has been 11 months since we entered Counter Strike 2, and I could not be prouder of what this team have achieved. From the players and staff who gave everything, to the community who stood behind us, we are truly grateful.
Our journey in UKCS is coming to a close for now, but the spirit of the eighth sin is not going anywhere.
8Sins was formerly:
Andrew “Wolfie” Allan
John “Dutchy” Holland
Matthew “moz” Gelder
William “wfn” Maskrey
Antal “Cher1on” Lubbers
Rupert Hoop (coach)
