100 Thieves President states the organization has invested "around $400k" in CS

Amid discussions of their rapid rise in the VRS rankings, 100 Thieves President and former DotA player Jacob "Maelk" Toft-Andersen estimated that the organization has spent around $400,000 so far. Compared to other organizations that also recently entered Counter-Strike, like BC.Game, the number is surprisingly low given how well the team has performed so far. While other organizations acquired existing cores for established spots on the VRS, 100 Thieves, like NIP in early 2025, built a new team from scratch.

The new VRS landscape of CS2 esports has led organizations like Falcons and BC.Game to pursue massive buyouts of existing teams, but 100 Thieves has taken an arguably savvier approach that seems to be paying off in and out of the server. They began by signing industry veterans Sean "sgares" Gares and Graham "messioso" Pitt to help build their lineup. Then, they chose to sign players with balanced levels of experience and firepower.

Experienced faces like Håvard "rain" Nygaard and Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz likely cost more because of their roles on higher-ranked teams, but helped anchor the team with their knowledge and maturity. Both came from bigger organizations, but weren't superstars on their teams. This likely saved some money compared to signing players like Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev and Denis "electroNic" Sharipov.

The engine of 100 Thieves' success has been their young talent. Alex "poiii" Sundgren, William "sirah" Kjærsgaard, and André "Ag1l" Gil have all been fantastic so far and proven to be great investments. As none came from massive organizations, and they were bought individually, they likely cost far less than buying an entire core from a top-30 team. Though entering without a core means starting with no points, it also means more freedom to build a team more deliberately with balanced roles and firepower.

Despite the stated cost being far below what other organizations paid to enter, 100 Thieves have experienced great success in a short time. A run to the playoffs at the Roman Imperium Cup V, followed by an impressive runner-up finish at DraculaN Season 5, has catapulted the team to #36 on the VRS. After barely any time, they sit just behind organizations like BC.Game and NIP that either spent far more than them or had far more time.

As they are favorites going into the Parken Challenger Championship Season 2, starting March 8th, this may only be the beginning. Perhaps starting with knowledgeable management rather than opting for an instant place on the VRS leaderboard is the key to success in the server and savings outside of it.