100 Thieves announces messioso and sgares to lead Counter-Strike 2 comeback

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:19:26 +0000

Image Credit: 100 Thieves via YouTube

100 Thieves has announced a new Head of Counter-Strike Operations and Head of FPS ahead of its return to Counter-Strike esports.

Graham ‘messioso’ Pitt and Sean ‘sgares’ Gares have joined 100 Thieves to help the organisation as it heads into Counter-Strike 2. 100 Thieves Roobet was announced two days ago as part of a multi-year partnership that sees 100 Thieves expanding into Europe’s esports scene.

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100 Thieves Building Counter-Strike 2 Powerhouse Team

100 Theives announced sgares as Head of FPS and messioso as Head of CS Operations on X earlier today, noting these are some of the ‘pieces’ of putting together its 100 Thieves Roobet Counter-Strike 2 team.

The pieces are ready to fall. #100T

Introducing @seangares as the 100 Thieves Head of FPS & @messioso as the Head of CS Operations for 100 Thieves Roobet Counter-Strike. pic.twitter.com/Y4xQb3QxrC

— 100 Thieves Roobet Counter-Strike (@100T_CS) November 12, 2025

sgares and messioso are the first hires ahead of 100 Thieves Roobet’s arrival. 100 Thieves shared an in-depth interview with the duo on YouTube. Fans are excited to see messioso return to Counter-Strike 2 after he left Complexity when the organisation shut down its Counter-Strike 2 division. sgares was previously a competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player and then became part of Shopify Rebellion’s VALORANT team.

“When you guys reached out, I was so stoked,” sgares said. “I was having a lot of fun in the game, so when you guys reached out, I was so stoked. When you asked for a call to talk about the opportunity, I was so excited I just showed up at the office.”

Once sgares was added to the organisation, they quickly decided to also add messioso since he had a lot of insight into the CS2 scene itself.

The two Counter-Strike veterans discussed plans for the 100 Thieves Roobet team, including the idea of pairing passionate veteran players with younger players they can guide and inspire.

“Hopefully we’ll have some news about the roster [soon],” said messioso. “Sean and I have been working really hard on who these coaches and IGLs are that we want to work with. Hopefully, the next announcement should be something on that.”

The post 100 Thieves announces messioso and sgares to lead Counter-Strike 2 comeback appeared first on Esports Insider.

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Cobblestone’s long walk back to Counter-Strike 2

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:05:42 +0000

Image Credit: Valve

If you still get emotional thinking about Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski sneaking through the drop room with an USP-S, you are not alone.

Ever since the great migration from CS:GO to CS2, the lack of a proper cobblestone castle has left a massive hole in the hearts of veteran players. Now that Cache has finally returned to the server, the community has turned its collective attention back to the medieval ruins.

The big question remains: when can we actually expect to throw a smoke execute onto the B platform again? While “Valve Time” is notoriously unpredictable, a mix of recent leaks and development pacing gives us a much clearer picture of the timeline.

The Math of Map Releases

Historically, Valve operates with the patience of a sniper holding an angle. There was a massive seventeen-month gap between the arrival of Train in late 2024 and the launch of Cache in April 2026. If the developers stuck strictly to that deliberate rhythm, the mathematical prediction would push a Cobblestone release all the way out to late 2027.

However, the pipeline might be moving faster than the historical averages suggest. A fresh update from a reliable scene leaker on X provides a slightly more optimistic outlook. The insider, who previously nailed the exact return window for Cache, reports that Valve is currently targeting a release window between Q4 2026 and Q1 2027.

A Winter Wonderland in the Castle

When the map does finally drop, expect to bring a jacket. Dataminers tracking the game files have found persistent updates to the dormant asset files since August 2023. The most intriguing discovery in those files points toward a massive visual overhaul.

The classic lush green moss and sunny stone walls are reportedly being swapped out for a snow theme. It represents a significant aesthetic shift for the map, but it would provide a welcome break from the usual sandy palettes dominating the current Active Duty rotation. It also explains why a Q4 or Q1 launch makes perfect sense from a seasonal marketing perspective.

The Structural Overhaul

The real challenge for the dev team isn’t just textures, but layout. The original Cobblestone was notoriously difficult to balance. The B site felt like a fortress, and T-side executing required a ridiculous amount of utility just to clear the angles.

Bringing it up to modern competitive standards means reworking those choke points from scratch. Valve is likely taking extra time to avoid the immediate community backlash that usually follows a rushed map layout. With Cache keeping the competitive queue fresh for the foreseeable future, the team has the luxury of working behind closed doors until the geometry feels correct.

Pack your winter boots and start practicing those drop-room flashes. We still have a bit of a wait ahead, but at least we know the castle walls are finally being rebuilt.