Breaking: XotiC steps down from NRG; oSee returns to starting lineup

NRG have announced today that XotiC has stepped down from the starting lineup ahead of the start of the 2026 season, while Josh "oSee" Ohm has taken his spot within the team. The move sees oSee return to NRG's ranks after being benched in early July following NRG's 0-3 exit from the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

According to NRG's announcement on X, XotiC is stepping down from the lineup to focus on "running multiple businesses" with the AWPer stating that he felt it was unfair to his teammates to not be able to give his esports career his full attention while also having a second job.

This is something NRG IGL Nick "nitr0" Cannella alluded to in an interview with Dust2.us at Fragadelphia 19, telling Dust2.us that XotiC would have to make a decision at some point about committing to Counter-Strike or his career if the team began to travel more and find success in the second half of the year.

NRG's CGO Jaime "bikeage" Cohenca has confirmed to Dust2.us that XotiC has entered free agency and is "done competing" at least for the foreseeable future. This is unfortunate news for NRG as they had seemingly found a real "diamond in the rough" with XotiC maintaining an impressive 1.12 rating over 87 maps during his time with NRG.

More generally, it puts NRG in an awkward spot as they will have to bed oSee back in a vastly changed roster after five months of relative inactivity. When oSee went to the bench, the experienced AWPer had just come of a string of poor performances at the BLAST.tv Austin Major and IEM Dallas, something he will hopefully be able to put behind him in the new year.

NRG are now:

• Jeorge "Jeorge" Endicott

• Nick "nitr0" Cannella

• Alexander "br0" Bro

• Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek

• Josh "oSee" Ohm

• Damian "daps" Steele (Coach)

oSee will be back in action with NRG at FRAG Miami 2 on January 2nd.