BanKs: “If the new sticker payment system stays in place, it will eventually affect everyone.”

Host James “BanKs” Banks discussed the new sticker revenue system and the closure of the Ninjas in Pyjamas academy in a new episode of the All About Counter-Strike podcast, and also assessed the potential of the current M80 roster.
On the new sticker revenue-sharing system
If the new sticker revenue system remains in place, it will eventually affect everyone. It may not impact large organizations like Vitality or Falcons, but clubs like MOUZ will start restricting their players once they see their profits drop significantly. This system will take a heavy toll on financial performance. For example, organizations that recently made their Major debut likely spent several times more than they ultimately earned. All qualifiers, Tier 2 tournaments, flights, and hotels are expensive these days. For this same reason, clubs that previously wanted to sign a CS2 roster are now looking toward other disciplines.
On the Closure of the Ninjas in Pyjamas Academy
I don’t understand why Ninjas in Pyjamas closed its academy. I think young talent would definitely have been a benefit to them. NIP has spoken a lot about not wanting to spend money on buying out players and recently promoted n0te to its main roster. I believe that every well-known organization should have a youth team. NAVI, Vitality, Spirit, and many others have them. The closure of the NIP academy is a bad sign.
About M80
M80 recently qualified for BLAST Open Porto 2026, crushing everyone in the North American qualifiers. Then they immediately flew to Europe. The team likely didn’t have enough time to adjust to the new schedule, which is why they lost to NIP in their first BLAST Bounty match and finished the tournament in last place. I think M80 has potential. They need to start showing progress at upcoming events. The team’s core hasn’t changed in a long time, and a plus is that rookie JBa has much more freedom here than he did at Wildcard.
Earlier, analyst Jakob “Pimp” Winneke shared his thoughts on the podcast Counter-Points regarding the replacement of Álvaro “SunPayus” García with Artem “r1nkle” Moroz at G2 Esports, and also assessed the club’s updated CS2 roster.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache, PGL.


