Running on Fumes: Semper Fi's 2026 Season So Far

The 2026 Counter-Strike Pro Circuit has been anything but easy for Semper Fi. A three-month bootcamp in Europe, a run through ESL Pro League against the world's best, back-to-back LAN finals heartbreaks, two international trips to Shanghai, and a roster change, all before June. It's been a long f***ing year. And we're only half way through.

Europe and The 'Big Education'

Semper Fi began 2026 not at home, but in Europe. The squad spent three months bootcamping on the continent, competing in tier-two EU events and learning what separates OCE from the top of the global game. The answer, according to captain Kristers "Keen" Dārznieks, wasn't aim or strategy. It was speed.

"The biggest change is the fact that we're now more used to faster CS" Keen said after returning home. "Europe is so much faster. I get entry somewhere with the AWP; if I don't start running to the opposite side of the map, they've already reacted and I'm behind nades."

That education came at a cost. Semper Fi went 0-3 at ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1, falling to PARIVISION, 3DMAX, and Team Liquid. No series win. But Keen was clear-eyed about what it meant: "It's like I put the training wheels back on. Not to disrespect, it was so f**king hard to play against them, just meaning it was even harder to play against Liquid."

The squad returned home coached by Swede Samuel "Zyppe" Martinsson, their first full-time EU head coach, who keen said demanded even faster play than he had been asking for himself.

Brisbane: so close, twice.

Two LANs in Brisbane in March.

Two finals appearances.

Two losses to THUNDER dOWNUNDER.

At the DFRAG Wildcard LAN on March 15, Semper Fi stormed through the bracket, beating Mindfreak, Ground Zero, and TdU in the upper bracket, before falling 2-1 in the grand final in what dfrag.gg called "a final for the ages." Nine hours of game time. Keen led with a 1.19 rating across the series. James "SaVage" Savage and Mārtiņš "Shadiy" Gūtmanis dragged the team into overtime on map two. Then Liazz torched them on Anubis with a 2.47 rating, and it was over.

Two days later, ANZC Autumn. Same opponent. Same result. TdU won 2-0 via overtime on Inferno after an unlucky dropped AWP from Keen gifted TdU the momentum they never surrendered.

Runner-up twice. But both results pushed Semper Fi above FlyQuest in the VRS rankings, cementing the squad at number two in OCE and firmly in contention for the IEM Cologne Major.

Shanghai & Upsetting TYLOO on Home Soil

With the Cologne Major invite cutoff approaching, Semper Fi flew to Shanghai for the XSE GangKui Cup Season 2. The mission was clear: collect VRS points, stay in the race.

Day one delivered one of the team's best results of the year. Jared "HaZR" O'Bree put on a 1.55 HLTV rating performance as Semper Fi dismantled TYLOO 2-0, stunning the Chinese side on home soil. Ancient saw Semper Fi claw back from 7-11 down behind a HaZR 1v3 into a 2v4 to win six straight. Inferno was more controlled, Keen landing 10 first kills on the CT side.

They fell to FlyQuest and then Rare Atom to exit 5th-6th, missing out on the major. But the TYLOO result was proof of where this team stands internationally.

Welcome Sliimey!

In May, the org announced Kalan "Sliimey" Lorenzo would join from Mindfreak, taking the spot of Christian "ADDICT" Pendleton who stepped back from competition.

At 20, Sliimey is the youngest member of the squad and one of the most exciting young players in OCE CS. He started his career with Kanga in 2021, developed under Michael "Chelleos" Hawkins at Rooster, gaining international LAN experience at ESL Pro League Season 20 and ESL Challenger Atlanta, before returning to Mindfreak where he was the standout performer heading into 2026.

Owner Ben Savage confirmed sliimey had been "smashing it in practice" ahead of the new season.

What's Around the Corner?

The season is not over. Semper Fi remain in contention for both the Esports World Cup 2026 and the IEM Cologne Major, chasing every point available before the cutoffs arrive.

As keen put it before the DFRAG Wildcard LAN final:

"We're broke, we're tired, but we keep f**king going."

That's Semper Fi.

Always Faithful.