Sakura part ways with raven

Lucy "empathy" Verkaik has confirmed Raven "raven" Sol's departure from Sakura, seeing the rifler exit the former ESL Impact roster after joining the then-Shimmer squad in October 2024. Her official departure comes after an extended absence from the team, with Sakura fielding Ava "AVA174" Dunn in her stead for the first ESL Challenger League Season 51 Cup and other recent events.

Sakura's decision to part ways with raven comes after a difficult start to the year for the team. The team are currently 0-9 on maps on HLTV in 2026 and recently lost star AWPer Lydia "Fawx" Dalton to FlyQuest RED back in January.

Dust2.us understands that raven was let go ahead of plans to trial new players for the team as Sakura look to find a place in the scene following the demise of the ESL Impact League. During her time with the team, raven helped the Sakura core to a second-place finish at the ESL Impact League Season 7 finals and a top-four finish in the Season 8 Finals.

Sakura are now:

• Lucy "empathy" Verkaik

• Wrenna "Stx" Trampel

• Sylvie "Serendipity" Splaver

• Alice "alicerawr" Hewitt

• Victor "Ink" Rozvora (Coach)

Sakura face off against Aether tonight in the lower bracket of the PGL Bucharest Closed Qualifier.