Team Vitality has officially expanded its shooter division ahead of the 2026 Esports World Cup, confirming new competitive rosters in PUBG (PC), Call of Duty: Warzone and CrossFire.

Announced from Paris on 11 February 2026, the move sees the French organisation return to PUBG (PC) and Warzone after previous runs in both titles, while entering CrossFire for the first time. It follows a strong 2025 season that included Counter-Strike and VALORANT victories, plus a Top 3 finish in the overall club standings at last year’s Esports World Cup.

A Strategic Push Ahead Of The 2026 Esports World Cup

Team Vitality’s expansion into three additional shooter titles is directly tied to its ambitions for the 2026 Esports World Cup this summer.

With club standings determined by performance across multiple games, fielding teams in PUBG (PC), Warzone and CrossFire gives Vitality more opportunities to accumulate points where every win counts. The organisation has framed this as the beginning of a new shooter era, building on its established dominance in Counter-Strike and its continued presence in VALORANT.

Fabien “Neo” Devide, President and co-founder of Team Vitality, said the club is determined to build on its Top 3 overall finish in 2025 by investing in star-powered rosters across the new titles. Corporate Director of Global Operations Danny Engels added that the goal is to strengthen Vitality’s positioning for EWC and establish a broader dynasty across the FPS genre.

Call Of Duty: Warzone Roster And Road To EWC

Angel “Sage” Quinones, who secured third place at last year’s EWC, leads the roster. He is joined by Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic and Logan “Skullface” Greifelt, both American players with strong competitive histories. The team is supported by coach Ethan “Ebatez” Bates.

The squad’s immediate focus is the Warzone Resurgence Series, which will determine qualification pathways to the 2026 Esports World Cup. The circuit culminates in two LAN finals at DreamHack Birmingham and DreamHack Atlanta, where top trios will lock in their EWC spots.

By returning with experienced players rather than rebuilding from scratch, Vitality is signalling that this is about immediate impact rather than a long-term development project.

PUBG (PC) Roster Marks Return To The Scene

The core of the lineup features players who competed under the Nemiga banner and secured sixth place at the PUBG Global Championship. The roster includes Aliaksandr “Gedrox” Puchko, Vladislav “Lev4nte” Tasenko and Artem “hallomybad” Baskakov.

Completing the squad are Andrey “Qw1zzy” Pobedinskiy and coach Ramazan “H1RUZEN” Valiullin, both arriving from Geekay. Sergei “MrTok” Britok joins as manager.

This return also creates crossover potential with Bigetron by Vitality, the organisation’s established powerhouse in the Southeast Asian PUBG Mobile ecosystem. With major LAN circuits increasingly featuring both PC and Mobile PUBG, the dual presence could help unify Vitality’s global fanbase across both platforms.

CrossFire Entry And Full Roster Details

CrossFire marks a completely new chapter for Team Vitality.

Ready to take on all FPS games at EWC.
Welcome to the Hive CrossFire 🐝

Horus
SNARE
slayer
Snake
tottziN pic.twitter.com/3k9ZivtoAP

— Team Vitality 🐝 (@TeamVitality) February 11, 2026

The organisation has acquired ROC Esports’ previous CrossFire team, which is based in Egypt and operates from a dedicated gaming house. The starting roster features Youssef “tottziN” Nasser, Ahmed “SNARE” Salah, Mohamed “Snake” Ahmed, Mohamed “Horus” Mahrous and Abdelrahman “slayer” Fawzy.

Andrei “strey” Solovev joins as coach, with Kislay “Drolo” Satyaj as General Manager. Two substitutes, Ammar “Apps” Ahmed and Abdelrhman “Bone” Mahmoud, have also been added to strengthen depth.

The team will compete in the CrossFire West League in EMEA across two key splits in March and April, followed by June and July. Combined results are expected to serve as a gateway to the 2026 Esports World Cup.

Beyond EWC qualification, the squad is targeting a run through Regional Finals to secure a place at the CrossFire Stars World Championship in China, widely regarded as the pinnacle of the CrossFire ecosystem. Vitality is positioning this roster as a potential Western dark horse capable of challenging the long-established Chinese powerhouses.

Momentum From 2025 Sets The Tone

Team Vitality’s 2025 campaign laid the groundwork for this expansion. Victories in Counter-Strike and VALORANT reinforced the organisation’s status as one of the strongest FPS brands in esports, while a Top 3 finish in the Esports World Cup club standings highlighted its ability to compete across multiple titles.

By adding PUBG (PC), Warzone and CrossFire to its portfolio, Vitality is broadening its competitive surface area rather than relying on a single flagship game. For fans, that means more tournaments, more storylines and more chances to see the black and yellow banner on major international stages.

With qualification circuits already underway and league splits approaching, the next few months will quickly reveal whether this expanded shooter division can convert ambition into silverware on the road to EWC 2026.

The post Team Vitality Expands Shooter Division For EWC 2026 With PUBG, Warzone And CrossFire appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Toronto Ultra is turning up the heat once again. The Call of Duty League franchise has officially announced the return of its Hot Drop Warzone tournament, featuring a $25,000 prize pool and support from Monster Gaming.

The second annual Toronto Ultra Hot Drop kicks off on October 7th, 2025, marking the first major Call of Duty: Warzone competition since the World Series of Warzone Global Final earlier this year.

Is it hot in here or is it just us? 🔥

We’re partnering with @TorontoUltra for the second year in a row to bring you the Toronto Ultra Hot Drop, kicking off tomorrow at 5PM EST/2PM PST!

Be sure to tune in to catch all the action! pic.twitter.com/8CrDXgmX0D

— Monster Gaming (@MonsterGaming) October 6, 2025

Big Names, Big Prizes

Teams will compete in trios on Verdansk for their share of the $25,000 (~NZ$42,000) prize pool, with the champions pocketing $10,000 (~NZ$17,000). Scoring will follow a familiar format, with one point per elimination and a multiplier based on placement:

• 1st: 2x
• 2nd–5th: 1.8x
• 6th–10th: 1.4x
• 11th–20th: 1.4x
• 21st–30th: 1.2x
• 31st and below: 1x

Like last year, the Hot Drop will use the match point system. That means once a team reaches the target score, they’ll need to win the next match to seal the championship.

This year, Shifty returns to defend his title with a new trio: Riley “zSmit” Smith and Logan “Skullface” Greifelt. With Biffle retiring from competition, all eyes will be on this fresh lineup to see if lightning can strike twice.

The State of Warzone Esports

While Activision has yet to confirm whether the World Series of Warzone circuit will return in 2026, third-party organisers like Toronto Ultra are keeping the competitive scene alive. Recent months have seen new organisations like Gen.G entering the Warzone space, showing there’s still plenty of momentum for community-driven events.

This grassroots energy mirrors the renewed excitement seen in other FPS scenes, such as Counter-Strike, where streamer Erik “fl0m” Flom recently announced his own community-driven LAN, the $30,000 Mythical LAN in Las Vegas.

With Monster Gaming’s backing and a prize pool that guarantees high-stakes action, the Toronto Ultra Hot Drop looks set to be one of Warzone’s biggest post-season showdowns yet. Fans can tune in when the competition goes live on October 7th at 5PM EST (2PM PST) to catch all the chaos unfold.

The post Toronto Ultra and Monster Gaming Team Up for $25,000 Warzone Hot Drop appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Esports World Cup 2025 has wrapped up after eight weeks of top-tier competition, and no organisation came out bigger than Saudi Arabia’s own Team Falcons. Playing on home soil in Riyadh, the Falcons locked in first place in the Club Championship, collecting a staggering $7 million prize and stamping their mark across the esports landscape.

They’ve defined being “locked in” 🔒 @TeamFalconsGG secure first place in the Club Championship 🦅 pic.twitter.com/c0NEpbw4rL

— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) August 21, 2025

Their run was nothing short of overwhelming. Falcons competed in 21 of the 25 events this year, finishing at the top of the leaderboards in Free Fire and Call of Duty: Warzone, with Tekken 8 star Atif “ATIF” Ijaz also turning heads. Add in strong results across Rocket League, Apex Legends, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and the Falcons left rivals like Team Liquid in the dust.

“They bought every team”

While the trophy shines brightly in Riyadh, the reaction online has been far more mixed. Many fans accused Falcons of winning by default, pointing out that they’ve bought into almost every esport on the EWC stage.

“125 rosters and stress until the end, let’s realise the almost pathetic performance,” one user wrote, while another posted the now-viral line:

“We bought a team in every esport that not every org has, so we win by default.”

The perception that Falcons simply spent their way to the top has become the defining talking point of this year’s EWC. For some, it’s proof of Saudi Arabia’s growing power in the esports world. For others, it’s the very definition of pay-to-win.

This org and tournament are a disgrace to E-sports. pic.twitter.com/Uen3J0iHeL

— Mason Low (@u4ryaa) August 21, 2025

The NPC fan debate

Adding to the firestorm was a viral clip from Team Spirit’s CS2 captain Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov, who joked that Falcons’ supporters were just “300 hired workers” told to chant in the stands.

What might have been throwaway banter quickly blew up. Falcons fans, especially in the Arab community, saw it as a serious insult, and chopper’s socials were flooded with backlash. Event staff even asked him to delete the video, and reports claim he may need private security while in Riyadh.

Meanwhile, esports Twitter had a field day, with memes comparing Falcons’ fan section to NPC crowds from EA Sports FC.

Is it me, or do the Falcons fans look like EAFC NPC’s? pic.twitter.com/oSZKTzYX9Z

— CS2-Universe (@CS2Universe) August 21, 2025

Overshadowing the players

Another sore point among fans was the lack of recognition for individual champions. While Falcons as an organisation grabbed the headlines, players like the Street Fighter champion who battled his way to victory barely got mentioned.

You’re still being disrespectful to the Street Fighter player who won. You’d rather say that Falcons won the EWC than give credit to the player’s victory. Bunch of hypocrites.

— Léopold 🔥❄️ (@FlamingFrost_) August 21, 2025

It’s a reminder that behind the Falcons brand, real players are grinding, competing, and putting in the work, something the pay-to-win narrative can sometimes overshadow.

Pride at home, scepticism abroad

Still, for Falcons and their CEO Mossad “Msdossary” Al-Dossary, the Club Championship means more than outside criticism. After clinching the title, he said through tears:

“We promised ourselves that we wanted this trophy to stay at home. Now, finally, we can say it’s home. This is for all the Saudi people. It remains in Saudi.”

That emotional moment highlights the divide: inside Riyadh, Falcons are heroes bringing pride to the region. Outside of it, many still see them as proof that money can buy trophies.

The bigger picture

With two EWC Club Championships in a row and an unrivalled presence across nearly every esport, Team Falcons aren’t going anywhere. Whether you see them as trailblazers or just the ultimate pay-to-win org, they’ve changed the way the esports world looks at competition.

The real question now: will other organisations follow their model, or will the backlash eventually force a rethink on how esports’ biggest prizes are decided?

The post Team Falcons Take EWC 2025 Club Championship After Pay to Win Spending Spree Across Esports appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Underdogs on Rebirth Island

Rebirth Island was the stage, $250,000 was on the line, and fourteen teams dropped in chasing the same dream. In the end, it was Twisted Minds who stood tall, taking out Call of Duty: Warzone at the Esports World Cup 2025 with a performance that had the hometown crowd buzzing.

Heading into the finals, the smart money was on Team Falcons, last year’s champions, or Virtus.pro, who’d both been running the show in the earlier rounds. But battle royale is never predictable, and Twisted Minds proved exactly why you can never count anyone out.

TWISTED ARE YOUR WARZONE EWC CHAMPIONS 🏆

وأخييييرًا تويستد مايندز أبطال كأس العالم وارزون 🧠🔥🔥#TwistTheGame #EWC2025 pic.twitter.com/Dju2iMDrjQ

— Twisted Minds 🧠 (@TwisMinds) August 9, 2025

A Decisive Final Day

Over ten tense matches in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian organisation, made up of US stars Aydan “Aydan” Conrad, Riley “zSmit” Smith, and newcomer Benjamin “Almond” Rosendahl, kept themselves in the fight. They chipped away at the leaderboard with high-kill games, always in striking distance, always dangerous.

AYDAN ALMOND AND SMIT ARE YOUR EWC WARZONE CHAMPIONS

ONE OF THE BEST WARZONE FINISHES ALL TIME pic.twitter.com/KO0iqpcyoC

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) August 9, 2025

The turning point came in the very last match. Sitting among five teams on match point, Twisted Minds needed to make a statement. They didn’t just win, they obliterated the lobby, dropping 24 kills and locking in first place to snatch the trophy from the favourites. It was the organisation’s first-ever EWC title, and it couldn’t have been more dramatic.

MVP Honours for zSmit

For zSmit, the victory came with extra silverware. His aggressive, clutch-heavy play across all ten matches earned him the SONY MVP award and an extra $10,000. From early-game picks to last-circle heroics, he was a constant thorn in the side of every team that crossed his sights.

Image Credit: Esports World Cup

Impact on the Club Championship

The win also launches Twisted Minds up the Club Championship standings, where they now sit in fifth place with five events still to come. With momentum on their side, they’ve put the rest of the field on notice—this isn’t a one-off.

What’s Next at EWC 2025

The Esports World Cup now shifts gears into Counter-Strike 2, but for Warzone fans, Twisted Minds’ run will be remembered as one of the most electrifying moments of the tournament so far.

The post Twisted Minds Claim Warzone Champion at EWC 2025 with Stunning Comeback appeared first on Shane the Gamer.