With the introduction of the VRS, local LANs have exploded in popularity due to the weight that LAN wins now carry. EPIC.LAN was one of the first tournaments to catch the attention of European teams, with last year’s summer edition featuring six European squads, with Iberian Soul – now known as Gentle Mates – taking the trophy. However, just seven months later, EPIC.LAN has returned to its roots and will field only UK teams.
The main reason for this is cost. EPIC.LAN, as we all know, is a BYOC event, which makes it both difficult and expensive for European teams to attend. TLR rifler James “bevve” Slinn said on X, “It is cheaper to attend two EU LANs than it is to attend one EPIC.”
This means that, for the first time in a year, a UK team is guaranteed to lift the trophy and bring it home. The question is: who will it be?
Nemesis lifting the EPIC.LAN 46 trophy
The Favourites
The Last Resort
Returning to Kettering, Tom “arTist” Clarke and Co have only one thing on their mind, reminding everyone that they are the best team in UK CS.
From the second half of 2024 and for most of 2025, the core of what is now TLR was the undeniable best team in UK CS, winning everything. That included three EPIC.LAN titles and four UKIC wins in a row. However, the woes of being an unorged team caught up to them as they finally lost their crown to dripmen the UKIC League Season 7 finals. To many people in the community, felt like the beginning of the end for what was such a dominant roster in our region.
There was a silver lining as the core of arTisT, Mason ‘Vacancy‘ Haines, and Matas ‘Extinct‘ Strumila reclaimed the UKIC Season 8 title over 8Sins alongside bevve and fellow Irishman Nathan ‘Unicorn‘ Dowd. This win was historic as it was the first time an Irish core had won a major UK and Ireland LAN. Despite this being an epic victory for Ireland, they were just mixing, and they played UKIC Season 8 for fun.
ALASKA winning UKIC Season 5 Division 1
In 2026, however, it looks like this team still has life left in it. The Last Resort have swooped in to provide stability and has completely changed the narrative around this squad. With sustainable organisational support for the first time since 2024, TLR replaced Unicorn with long-time teammate Callum “Girafffe” Jones and has set out on a mission to reinstate their dominance.
TLR currently sit at an impressive 7-1 record in ESEA Advanced, has topped their group in UKIC Season 9 Masters, and arrives in Kettering in strong form.
8Sins
The biggest obstacle standing in TLR’s way at EPIC.LAN 47 is their arch-nemesis, 8Sins.
As previously mentioned, the only team to defeat The Last Resort for a UK trophy since June 2024 was dripmen. Since that night in Sheffield, the team has been picked up by 8Sins and has bolstered its roster.
They added experienced Tier 2 player William “dobbo” Dobson, formerly of GamerLegion and Into the Breach, along with Danish rifler Frederik “TorNEX” Lindh Feldtfo, who finished third at EPIC.LAN 46 with Prestige. They also strengthened their coaching staff by bringing in esteemed IGL John “Dutchy” Holland, who previously coached Israeli side NOM in 2024, and later the previous 8Sins roster before returning to playing.
Can 8Sins break their organisational curse?
On paper, these additions elevate the roster, and they have shown promise in European competition, including a playoff appearance at United21 Season 44 and an 8-2 record in ESEA Main. However, regionally, they suffered a slight setback against mix side Square Sausages in the UKIC Season 9 Masters group stage, losing 1-2. They have yet to secure a UKIC playoff spot, with their decider match scheduled after EPIC.LAN.
This event presents a major opportunity for 8Sins to gain valuable VRS points and push toward qualification for their first VRS event, while also establishing themselves as the best team in the UK. To do so, they must first overcome their organisational grand finals curse.
The Dark Horses
CTRL Esports
Losing out to 8Sins at EPIC.LAN 46 to finish 7th-8th, the newly signed CTRL will be looking to build upon their strong domestic results in 2026.
Led by Joseph “godkU” Fowkes, CTRL made it through their UKIC Season 9 Masters group after losing 1-2 to The Last Resort and beating Coalesce in a nail-biting 2-1 win on Tuesday.
How will CTRL fare without Tree60 on LAN this time around?
With Jamie “Tree60” Callan returning to the European Tier 2 circuit playing for Esport BERG, CTRL has brought in rising star and former Viperio Academy player Liam “M1n1mal” Reynolds. With the 17-year-old in the lineup, they will aim to carry their strong regional form onto the LAN stage and challenge the favourites.
Coalesce
Coalesce find themselves in a different situation than CTRL. They lost their star player mid-season and failed to advance from the UKIC Masters group stage, but a strong LAN performance could redefine their season.
At the start of the month, Coalesce announced that Antal “Cher1on” Lubbers had stepped away from the project to pursue another opportunity, which UKCSGO understands to be a new academy initiative. Due to the timing, Coalesce brought in friend of the team, Ehren “Abyss” Osborne, for the remainder of the season.
Can Coalesce still perform withouth Cher1on?
So far, results have been mixed. They missed out on the UKIC Season 9 Masters playoffs but are thriving internationally in ESEA Main with an 8-3 record.
Having skipped EPIC.LAN 46, the storied organisation Coalesce, now return to an event limited to UK teams and will aim to make a deep run – and perhaps claim revenge over CTRL.
The mixes
HLTV Unconfirmed
The UKIC Season 9 Masters mix that can pack a punch will be looking to claim some scalps and ruin some teams’ runs.
Despite them not winning a map in the UKIC Season 9 Masters group stage, you do not want to sleep on a roster with EPIC.LAN winner Josh ‘Yoshwa‘ Ryley and UKIC Season 0 Finals winner Zy “yz0” Esponilla.
British Aussie Gang
Wait… Joshua “Dweg” Nathan might not get grouped?
Showing their charitable sides, 29AvgAge has set out to make sure Dweg makes it out of groups. The 2x UKIC finalists and dynamic duo Luke “Nem” Mear and Joe “dexie” Demmon are going to have to pull their socks up alongside the CeX duo, Liam “Murky” Smallwood and Harry “Nukeddog” Jenkins. This is UK CS’s version of Make-A-Wish.
Can the big Nemesis carry Dweg out of groups?
Nigel Mirage
A strong mix combining elements of Square Sausages and Los Emigrantos may not have their sights set on the main title, but rather the inters finals.
Matthew “moz” Gelder and Oskar “oskvr” Myszka have been playing for Square Sausages in ESEA Advanced and topped their UKIC Season 9 Masters group, notably defeating 8Sins.
Collectively, Nigel Mirage bring significant experience, including James “Mad” Debono, who has represented organisations such as Audacity, Feenix, and EKO. In general, teams like Coalesce and CTRL will need to avoid slipping up against this dangerous mix if they want a chance at contending the favourites.
Talent
This marks the fourth time upcoming duo OneWing and sh1n lend their voices to an EPIC.LAN broadcast. The two of them have been grinding through UK CS, covering every qualifier and league in both ESEA and UKIC. They’ll be attending their fourth EPIC.LAN in a row, armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of the scene.
Felix0 returns as a commentator after making his grand debut last LAN when he put down the mouse and picked up the mic. He joins JaffaCasts, who has set his eye on his third consecutive EPIC.LAN attendence.
Vlad “WaXeN” Catusanu missed out on EPIC.LAN 46, but had worked at the two before alongside Orson “SeveralSheep” Schuijers. His experience includes working on the ESL Challenger league and featuring on the Dota IESF World Esports Championship 2023 and 2024.
UwE steps in as a newcomer to the EPIC.LAN broadcasting crew, looking to start the journey that so many before him have done.
🔫EPIC47 Counter-Strike 2 Casters:@OneWingCS | @sh1nTV | @FLX_cs | @WaXeNVlad | @UwECritch | @jaffacasts pic.twitter.com/rF61dOD7Pa
— EPIC.LAN UK Gaming & Esports Events (@EPICLAN) February 18, 2026
Prize pool increase
There will be an increase in the prize pool from the previous event, as Logitech G will sponsor the main CS2 tournament, boosting the prize pool and introducing a SUPERSTRIKE MVP prize for the tournament. Currently sitting at £5,250 based on the 38 teams that have signed up, this prize pool is just off the highest pot, which was £5,600 at EPIC.LAN 43.
Not only is an increase beneficial for teams to make their money back, but also for teams seeking VRS points, prize pool winning plays a big factor.
VRS impact
HLTV has been confirmed for EPIC.LAN 47, but it is unclear how many teams will be featured.
Due to the lack of European teams and only 8Sins and TLR being ranked, there is a chance that we could see only four teams featured, which was the standard before the introduction of VRS.
