Once upon a time in early 2024—back when CS2 fans were still arguing about whether the AWP was overpriced and underpowered—PGL decided to get ahead of a different kind of explosion: conflicts of interest. The organizer of the next CS2 Major at the time, PGL, publicly clarified the messy entanglements surrounding the March competition. Two headline cases stood out like a bright red hitmarker: Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin's loan from NIP to MOUZ, and GameSquare's prospective purchase of FaZe Clan. In both cases, the parties involved had to sign a 'Declaration of Conflicts of Interest' to keep the Major's integrity from slipping into the void. Fast-forward to 2026, and the episode remains a handy template for how tournament organizers handle multiclub drama, loanee loyalty, and the eternal question: who exactly is paying whom?
The Brollan Loan Saga: A Swede in the Middle 🎭
The Swedish player entered a case of Conflict of Interest for the Major due to the loan from NIP to MOUZ. The player was on loan according to the contract signed for a 'predetermined amount of time.' Brollan arrived at MOUZ at the end of 2023, reaching the semi-finals of the two competitions played: BLAST Premier: World Final 2023 and IEM Katowice 2024. He arrived to fill the vacancy left by David 'frozen' Čerňanský, who moved to FaZe Clan. The loan period at MOUZ was not public, which is exactly the kind of mystery that makes esports journalists refresh their inboxes every five minutes.
In the 'Declaration of Conflicts of Interest' signed by Brollan, he stated: 'I would like to confirm that my competitive decisions and behavior during the tournament will solely be in the best interest of team MOUZ, without any monetary relation to team NIP.' That is a fancy way of saying: when the server starts, his heart—and his paycheck—should point only toward MOUZ. MOUZ's CEO Stefan Wendt and NIP's Director of Esports Erik Wendel also signed the same conflict of interest declarations for Brollan's loan. NIP was in Group A of the RMR while MOUZ was in Group B, and both were fighting for a place in the Major. RMR A started on Wednesday, because of course it did.
The FaZe, Complexity, and GameSquare Triangle 🔺
The conflict of interest situation for the Major was different in the case of Complexity and FaZe Clan. In October, GameSquare publicly signaled that it intended to buy FaZe Clan. In its group, the company already owned Complexity. That created a lovely little corporate pretzel: one parent company potentially holding two teams in the same tournament. Edward Han, the Director of Esports Operations for FaZe Clan, according to PGL, 'has acknowledged a conflict of interest concerning the prospective acquisition of FaZe Clan by GameSquare, which already possesses Complexity.'
However, the parties demonstrated their commitment and integrity to the Major. PGL reported that each party 'has unequivocally pledged its commitment to maintaining the integrity and fairness of the competition in the forthcoming tournaments.' Nothing says fair play like a parent company with two children in the same spelling bee, but at least everyone signed the paperwork and promised to behave.
How PGL Handled the Paperwork Parade 📝
With the PGL CS2 RMR commencing in two days, PGL requested a declaration from all participating teams regarding potential conflicts of interest. Compliance was observed as follows:
| Party | Conflict | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Brollan | Loan from NIP to MOUZ | Signed declaration; MOUZ CEO and NIP esports director co-signed |
| FaZe Clan | Prospective GameSquare acquisition; GameSquare already owns Complexity | Edward Han acknowledged; parties pledged integrity |
| NIP & MOUZ | Same loan arrangement | Separate declarations from leadership |
| All teams | Potential undisclosed conflicts | PGL requested blanket declarations; compliance observed |
PGL even tweeted about it, because in 2024, a tournament organizer's public clarification was basically a press release with a blue checkmark. The organizer wanted everyone to know that the Major's integrity was not being left to chance, vibes, or a handshake in a dark corridor.
Why 2026 Still Cares About a 2024 Major 🕰️
In 2026, the CS2 landscape is even more tangled. Organizations merge, players move on loan, venture capital treats esports teams like trading cards, and fans need a flowchart just to understand who owns whom. The 2024 PGL Major conflict cases—Brollan's loan and GameSquare's FaZe pursuit—did not produce a scandal. They produced paperwork. Glorious, tedious, legally reviewed paperwork. And sometimes, boring bureaucracy is the real MVP.
The episode remains relevant because it shows how a tournament organizer can get ahead of conflicts: ask every team for a declaration, publish the results, and let the matches decide the rest. It is not glamorous. It will never trend on social media like a clutch defuse. But it keeps the competition from becoming a corporate puppet show. The Major's integrity was preserved, the teams competed, and fans eventually found something else to argue about—probably skins, smokes, or whether a particular roster move was 'washed.'
So the next time a roster move looks suspicious, remember that somewhere a lawyer is drafting a conflict-of-interest declaration, and a tournament organizer is hoping everyone just signs it. In CS2, the only thing more complicated than a smoke execute is corporate ownership. 🎯