Academy team
How academies work:
- Players are usually teenagers or in their early twenties, often found in online leagues and ranked play.
- The academy plays lower level events, mostly tier 2 and tier 3: B, C and D tier on R1GG. See CS2 Tournament Tiers.
- The main team's coaches often help train them.
Why organizations run academies:
- to develop future players instead of buying them from other teams;
- to have a ready replacement when a main team player is benched or needs a stand-in;
- to sell talented players to other teams.
Many of today's stars started in an academy before moving up to the main roster.
On R1GG, academy teams appear as separate teams with their own results and form. Most of their matches are below the tiers counted in the R1GG rating, so few of them have a rank.
Learn more about levels of competition in CS2 Tournament Tiers.
Related guides
CS2 Tournament Tiers: What S, A, B, C and D MeanWhat S, A, B, C and D tier mean for CS2 tournaments, who sets them, how they match tier 1 and tier 2 talk, and which events are worth watching.
BenchedA benched CS2 player is removed from the active lineup but stays under contract with the team.
Stand-inA stand-in in CS2 is a temporary player who replaces a regular team member for a match or event, for example because of visa issues.
Tier 1Tier 1 in CS2 means the top level of the scene: the best teams and the biggest events, such as Majors.
Reviewed by the R1GG team
