When Vitality's players hoisted the Budapest Major trophy, the competitive season technically ended — and the transfer rumor mill roared to life almost immediately. Expectations were high for a chaotic off-season, with many predicting significant roster shuffles among the game's elite.

Team Spirit coach Timur Ahilles Kulmukhametov has suggested that the club may have deliberately moved Denis 'Larl' Sigitov to the bench in order to try a starting lineup with Marat 'Mirele' Gazetdinov. On his Telegram channel the coach also conceded that Larl might indeed be dealing with personal matters that required him to take a break from competition.

ESL has announced a redistribution of club reward funds across its annual events, moving money to IEM China following a change in the status of IEM Cologne. The adjustment affects the pool of club reward money available to teams that attend ESL’s seven yearly tournaments.