The Benelux organisation NXT no longer have a Counter-Strike roster after their short-term deal with Tom “arTisT” Clarke and company comes to an end.
The best team in the British Isles signed with NXT for just two events on the 14th June this year. This marked the first time this core had a place to call home in 2025 after Verdant dropped them at the start of the year. The two events they signed for were the UKIC Division 1 Season 6 finals and EPIC.LAN 45.
Mason “Vacany” Haines and his team are no strangers to success in the UK circuit, and they demonstrated their strength as a team in the UKIC Division 1 Season 6 finals in London. They did battle at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere for their first match under the NXT banner, dominating 28AvgAge 2-0. This secured their fourth UKIC Division 1 title in a row, and their one and only trophy whilst playing under NXT.
Their win over Synical, who were then playing under 28AvgAge, was a comfortable one. It went exactly as the people expected, domination from the four-time UKIC Division 1 winners, even if map two went to overtime.
Extinct and co will once more looking for support
Vacancy mentioned to UKCSGO after their win in London how relieving it felt to be playing with some form of support again for the first time since they left Verdant in January. He remarked on the lack of organisations in the scene right now.
It just seems like there’s a lack of investment in the scene at the moment.
After 9-11th place exit in the Winline Instght Season 7 tournament, where they played their 2-2 match in the Swiss stage at the Kettering Conference Centre ahead of EPIC.LAN 45. NXT’s focus turned to the UK’s grassroots CS event.
Their run at EPIC.LAN 45 was a success. They were the highest-placing UK team at the event, coming fourth and eliminating 8Sins as well as European side The Last Resort. With 3 LAN wins on HLTV, EPIC.LAN 45 served as a big boost to the core’s VRS points. The event boosted them 35 spots in the world ranking with a total of 116 points, placing them at 89th in the world at the end of the Kettering-based event.
They then parted ways with their organisation, as was always the plan, at the culmination of EPIC.LAN 45. The now orgless team have rebranded to a new US state after playing under ALASKA prior to joining NXT. They now play under the banner of HAWAII.
NXT have yet to post anything about the team’s departure on their socials.
Having left NXT, HAWAII are:
Tom “arTisT” Clarke
Mason “Vacancy” Haines
Matas “Extinct” Strumila
Jacob “Rezst” Hemming
Jamie “Tree60” Callan
Our short-term contract with @GONXTGG for @EPICLAN has ended. We will now be pursuing a longer-term relationship. In the meantime, we will be playing under our player organization, HAWAII, currently ranked 61st in EU.
If you're interested, please get in touch via DMs!
🌴🌴🌴🌴— HAWAII (@HAWAIICS2) July 22, 2025
