2025 was not an easy year for us. We did make it to the Major, yes, but the results have still varied a lot. With our new roster consisting of hampus, isak, adamb, Plopski and L00m1, we were inches away from qualifying to big events such as PGL Astana and IEM Dallas 2025 and had some great finishes in online tournaments. Still, problems in the team dynamic were starting to appear early on, and it became especially clear when we failed to qualify for Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 in May. However, with the Major spot already clinched and just a month away, making roster changes was not the right approach neither tactically nor morally, and we decided to wait until the end of the season. We do think, however, that the result in Austin perfectly highlighted that something was not right in the squad. Therefore, after many hours of evaluation and discussion with the team staff and within the organization, we made the decision not to continue with adamb and hampus.
adamb and the team struggled massively in Austin
With our new line-up, headlined by Jack “Jackinho” Ström Mattsson making a comeback to Metizport, as well as Liam “MaiL09” Tügel whom we bought out of Johnny Speeds, we have certainly not had a “honeymoon period”. In online tournaments the results have been very lacking, and at LAN events the cracks in the foundation have shown time and time again, even though we have had promising signs of a better structure with close matches against teams much higher than us on the ranking. We believe it’s a good thing that the struggles became clear early on, because it has allowed us to seriously start evaluating both with the players and coaching staff, but also within the organization, ahead of the new year. In the end, we have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for a bigger shift in the team and our approach around it, one that can give us a boost for the remainder of the year and lead us into 2026 with a fresh, strong and all-rounded project.
Jack’s first four months in Metizport haven’t been easy
Along with parting ways with Ahmed “abdi” Abdi at the end of his contract in a little over a month, our AWPer Lucas “L00m1” Haukland will be moved to the bench, leaving space for a new sniper to grab the reins and help Metizport back to stable grounds. L00m1 has played a key role in Metizport’s journey over the past year, contributing to great results and leaving his mark on the organization’s history. We would like to thank him for his professionalism and commitment during his time with us and wish him the very best in his future endeavours.
L00m1 at DraculaN #2 in Bucharest
Furthermore, Nicolas “Plopski” Gonzalez Zamora has decided to take a step back for an indefinite period of time due to personal reasons. We fully respect his decision and the need to prioritize personal well-being. Plopski remains an important part of Metizport’s long-term vision, and we look forward to welcoming him back when the time is right.
With three different LAN events knocking on the door, we are already well on the way with finding two new players to step into the shoes of L00m1 and Plopski for the remainder of the year. We are also working towards appointing a new Head Coach to make abdi’s departure in December as smooth as possible for the team. More roster news will be coming very soon.
We are at a significant mark in our development, not only when it comes to Counter-Strike, but our esports venture as a whole. We are no longer aiming to operate only with players from Sweden, but are moving towards an international approach. Commercially, this is where we are heading as well, with plans to expand into new titles and territories even outside of Europe. The company keeps growing, and our ambitions are very clear – we need to dare to follow along and take the next step.
Metizport has always aimed high. We want to make it to another Major in 2026. We want to be a top contender in Europe, but also the world. In order to achieve this, we want to have the widest possible range of players we can choose from, and therefore opening the door for players from outside Sweden to join the team is very beneficial. We believe it will add a new culture and spark to the squad that’s needed to reach the top again, but it’s also something that will benefit Metizport as an organization on all levels.
You see, Sweden has many talents, but at the moment no organization in the country can compete with the contracts and salaries in the bigger, international tier1 teams, which means that many of the nation’s talents will go to these rosters instead of staying in a nationwide team. As an example, when NiP operated with a team in Sweden, they were that tier1 team that could offer great contracts and high salary, allowing Swedish talents to elevate their professional career while staying inside the boundaries of Sweden. However, the current ecosystem in Sweden doesn’t look like this anymore, making it a lot harder for us. Therefore, in order to reach our goals, we need to open up the doors for the rest of the world. We don’t have an ambition to only be a “talent factory” for players and then sell them to bigger organizations – we want to be a top contender. We also feel that allowing our remaining Swedish players to play in an international environment is an important step in their development as well, one step closer to the world of tier1 and seeing more Swedish names in the absolute top in the future.
zEVES, Metizport’s Sports Director, with the trophy after Metizport became Swedish Champions in 2024
The support from the Swedish scene is and has been invaluable, and we will always be thankful for it. The community has grown a lot stronger in recent years thanks to initiatives from some amazing individuals and companies – Esportstudion, Dust2, Esplay, and Fragbite to name a few. Entering Swedish Counter-Strike in 2023 was the best move Metizport could have made, and it was an excellent place for us to start building our Counter-Strike investment outside of Norway.
We truly want to thank L00m1, abdi and Plopski for the work they have put down under the Metizport banner. For the first two, with outgoing contracts, we want to wish them the best of luck in their new endeavours. For Plopski, we wish him a calm and well-needed break from competitive CS. As we are only two weeks away from the LAN event JOURNEY 2025, we look forward to showcasing our new squad there. Mere days later, Svenska Cupen 2025 will commence, and not long thereafter DreamHack Knockout 2025 will stand before us. This is why we have worked around the clock to find suitable replacements prior to these tournaments, so we can field a strong line-up that we believe in for perhaps the most important tournaments of the whole year.
There is always something more to say. Something you forget to mention. We want to remind you that our Sports Director sat down and explained everything in a video available on our YouTube. But for now, we thank you for reading and hope that you will join us in this new and exciting phase.
Keep your eyes peeled for more news in the upcoming days – this is a busy time for us, and a lot of interesting things are in the works.