Bren Esports have released their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) division with immediate effect, the Filipino organization announced on Monday.
Bren Esports are the latest lineup to disband this week, joining TIGER who announced their departure in late-February. The announcement came shortly after Patrick “Derek” Lacson and Riley “witz” Go were released from the roster in the first two months of this year. The latter already made a move to Made in Thailand’s VALORANT roster.
The core of the Bren Esports roster first came together in December 2017 under TNC Pro Team’s flag, rising to prominence and being signed by the current largest Filipino esports team, Bren Esports, in mid-2019. During their stint, the squad’s most notable trophy was GeForce Cup Pacific 2019, and managed to achieve playoff finishes at eXTREMESLAND CS:GO Asia 2019 and PAL Fall 2020.
Bren Esports recently finished 3rd-4th at eXTREMESLAND CS:GO Festival 2020 Southeast Asia after being beaten by ZIGMA, the only team in the top four with an organization to represent.
The team have witnessed Derek’s departure from the roster in late-February this year, forcing them to fill a player to stand in during ESEA Season 36 Open APAC. In the end, the remaining four players continue in Derek’s footsteps to no longer represent the Filipino giant.
In the meantime, the squad is going to stay together as “ex-Bren“. “Then later I am going to leave the team to make some personal decisions in my career,” Deko “Papichulo” Evangelista says. “It has not been announced yet but our fifth man will be Azis “azys” Nandang. He has been playing and practicing with us for quite a while now.”
Meanwhile, Derek has decided to look for individual offers. The 21-year-old has stated that he will stay in the scene for the time being and search for a new organization to play with, not limiting his options to the domestic scene.
The Bren Esports announcement has linked the situation with Asian CS:GO scene’s inactivity in the past year:
“The industry has been through a series of whirlwinds in the previous year, but it remained resilient. Adaptability is a solid anchor indeed.
– Bren Esports via Facebook.
Our CS:GO team has been through rises and falls, but it has been a rewarding ride overall. We would like to wish the team all the best in the new path that they will be taking. Thank you so much for wearing black and yellow (jersey).”
The scene has been in a challenging situation since organizations have pulled out from the scene one by one, starting from Beyond Esports’ team dissolving in the second week of 2021. Paper Rex was next, who switched all of their players to the team’s VALORANT division. The lack of activity in the scene also affected the second best team in the region, ex-TIGER, who are currently in search for a new home. It leaves only Huat Zai and ZIGMA among the top Southeast Asian teams that still have an organization to represent.
With these changes, the remaining four Bren Esports members are now free agents:
- ?? Jose “Rbtx” Jamir (coach)
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