FURIA has confirmed staff cuts across several departments after the collapse of Counter-Strike 2 Major sticker revenue hit the organisation’s cash flow. The Brazilian esports giant is one of many teams feeling the financial fallout, but its CEO says the damage could have been far worse.
Sticker sales have long been a key income source for CS2 organisations, tied directly to Valve’s Major tournaments. When that revenue suddenly dried up, it exposed just how dependent some teams had become on it, and how painful the drop would be once it disappeared.
How the New Sticker System Splits the Money
The revenue drop stems from Valve’s overhaul of the Major sticker system, which began at IEM Cologne 2026. Valve replaced random sticker capsules with a token shop, where fans pay a set price for the exact sticker they want.
Valve still keeps the overall split at 50/50 with the ecosystem. But how that half gets divided has changed. Organisers now take a fixed 5%, while the remaining 45% is split among the 32 qualifying teams based on their Valve Regional Standings rank and how far they advance, not on sticker sales tied to their name. Valve also now mandates an automatic 50/50 split between each organisation and its players, replacing individually negotiated deals.
The impact has been steep. A team with a similar result earned around $600,000 in sticker revenue at the previous Major in Budapest, but only about $120,000 at Cologne, a drop of nearly 90%. That’s the backdrop behind Akkari’s comments on why even a well-sponsored organisation like FURIA felt the hit.
A Major Source of Income Dries Up
CS2 Major stickers have traditionally given teams a share of sales revenue tied to in-game items sold during tournament events. For years, this system provided organisations, including those without deep sponsorship portfolios, a steady stream of income. However, that revenue has recently collapsed, and the impact has spread across the entire Counter-Strike scene.
FURIA CEO and Co-Founder Andre Akkari, speaking to The Esports Radar, addressed the situation directly, describing it as damaging not just for individual teams but for the wider esports market.
It hits cash flow, it hits everything. It’s been very damaging for every organisation
FURIA Feels the Impact, But Not Alone
Akkari explained that FURIA’s broader sponsorship base, the organisation counts around twelve active sponsors, gave it some cushion compared to teams that relied almost entirely on sticker income. Still, he stressed that the situation is bad for the entire industry, including Valve itself.
We’re fortunate that FURIA has around twelve major sponsors, so proportionally we probably feel it a little less than some others. There are organisations out there with no sponsorship at all that are living off stickers. That’s tragic, it’s bad for the market, bad for us, bad for them, bad for everyone. I think it’s even bad for Valve.
The financial vacuum left by the sticker crash played a direct role in FURIA’s recent internal changes. As a result, the organisation has already made cuts in several areas, including design, production, and social media. According to Akkari, the process is not finished.
We will continue restructuring, we will continue changing, we will continue making major, impactful changes.
Why This Matters
These interview giving a rare inside look at how one of Counter-Strike’s most recognisable organisations is coping with a market-wide shock. The sticker revenue crash exposes a deeper risk in CS2’s esports economy: many teams built financial plans around income tied entirely to Valve’s Major system, with no real safety net. FURIA’s broader sponsorship base helped soften the blow, but as Akkari pointed out, teams without that cushion face a far tougher road. The situation raises real questions about how sustainable the current CS2 esports business model is going forward.
