Imperial Esports CS2 Roster Loses Second Player in a Month
Imperial Esports has moved Felipe "skullz" Medeiros to the inactive roster in Counter-Strike 2. The club thanked the player for his professionalism and contribution to the team, but the decision is part of an ongoing roster rebuild.
Felipe Medeiros is considered one of the most talented Brazilian players. He began his career in the South American tier-2 scene, quickly established himself in regional teams, and gained recognition. His real breakthrough came in 2023–2024 when skullz came into the spotlight after successful performances at international tournaments. His high rating (peaking above 1.10 against tier-1 opponents) and consistent work on anchor positions made him a sought-after player on the market. Before joining Imperial, he played for FURIA and other Brazilian teams, where he posted good individual numbers but did not always achieve team results.
skullz joined Imperial in August 2025. At that time, the organization was looking for fresh blood after a series of poor performances and wanted to renew itself. It was expected that skullz would become the foundation of a new project built around experienced players and help the team return to the top 20 of the world rankings. However, the results were mixed. The team periodically reached the main stage of major tournaments but showed no progress. In some matches, skullz showed decent stats, but the team as a whole struggled with coordination and late-round execution.
Moving skullz to the bench is not the first change at Imperial in recent months. Earlier, the team lost Santino "try" Rigal, who moved to Passion UA. His departure was linked to his search for a new stage in his career and his desire to try himself in a European project.
The current Imperial roster is as follows:
- Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo
- Kaiky "noway" Santos
- Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes
- Rafael "zakk" Fernandez (coach)
The team is effectively in a restructuring phase. The departures are related both to results and an attempt to find a more stable gameplay model. Imperial faced instability issues in 2026. The team often started tournaments confidently but could not maintain the pace in the playoffs. There were also noticeable difficulties with the map pool and closing out maps with a minimal advantage. The organization likely decided to bet on a more systematic approach, even if it means sacrificing strong players.