Sashi Part Ways With MistR and Sign chelleos After VRS Controversy

Sashi have continued rebuilding their roster following an unsuccessful attempt to move into the Asian VRS ahead of PGL Major Singapore 2026. The organization mutually parted ways with Mikkel "MistR" Thomsen, and just a few hours later announced the signing of New Zealander Michael "chelleos" Hawkins.

The new player arrived from Rooster and replaced Frederik "acoR" Gyldstrand. Following the latest changes, the majority of Sashi’s roster now consists of players from Oceania and Asia.

"1. Sashi Part Ways With MistR and Sign chelleos After VRS Controversy","1.1. MistR Leaves Sashi by Mutual Agreement","1.2. Valve Stops Sashi’s Attempt to Switch Regions","1.3. Sashi Sign chelleos to Replace acoR","1.4. Sashi Form a New Asian Core"

MistR Leaves Sashi by Mutual Agreement

Sashi had previously benched MistR and Kasper "Cabbi" Jensen, signing Australians Tynan "TjP" Purtell and Jordan "Hatz" Bajic.

Those changes were intended to allow the team to move from the European VRS to the Asian region and improve its chances of receiving an invitation to the Singapore Major.

After several days of uncertainty, MistR announced that he had reached an agreement with the organization to end their cooperation.

“Thank you to Sashi and especially to my coaches and teammates. The past few days have been hard and it hurts to see what's happening at X. I'm happy Sashi and I mutually agreed to part ways, allowing me to step away from this crazy situation and focus on what's next.”

According to Turkish account Arhaval, the Dane’s next team could be BBL, which entered CS2 in August after signing the Echo roster.

Valve Stops Sashi’s Attempt to Switch Regions

Sashi’s drastic roster overhaul was one of the developments that led Valve to change the rules governing regional VRS assignments.

A roster can now receive a new regional assignment only if it has not appeared in another region’s VRS during the previous three calendar months.

As a result, Sashi’s original plan no longer worked. Valve also stated that teams that had attempted to switch regions ahead of the Major would not be able to continue their qualification campaign unless they contacted the developers and reached a separate solution.

Sashi Sign chelleos to Replace acoR

Despite the rule change, the organization continued moving toward an Asian-based roster and signed chelleos from Rooster.

The 26-year-old New Zealander spent around four years with the Australian organization and averaged a 1.15 rating during that period, mostly in regional competitions.

He also has international experience, having competed in several ESL Pro League seasons and ESL Challenger events in 2023–2024.

Sashi Sign TjP and Hatz, Target Asian VRS Ranking

Sashi Form a New Asian Core

With chelleos joining the roster, Sashi now have three players from the Asia VRS region - TjP, Hatz, and chelleos. This gives the organization a new majority and could potentially allow it to try entering the Asian ranking with a different VRS core.

Sashi’s current roster:

• Tynan "TjP" Purtell

• Jordan "Hatz" Bajic

• Michael "chelleos" Hawkins

• Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss

• Anton "Anlelele" Huynh

• Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen (coach)

It is still unclear whether Valve will approve the new version of the roster and whether Sashi will retain any chance of competing for a place at PGL Major Singapore 2026.