Talon Esports, known for its presence in Southeast Asia in major esports League of Legends and VALORANT, is expanding into Counter-Strike 2 while heading Down Under. Talon has recruited Aussie Major semi-finalist Aaron “AZR” Ward to lead the new team, which combines talent from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

A combination of youth and experience will lead Talon into its first CS2 adventure, with the squad officially announced on August 2nd – though rumors of the squad’s arrival on the scene have been hinting for nearly a month now. AZR, who last recorded a match on the server a year ago for the ill-fated Sprout project, will lead the team, which will feature Jared “HazR” O’Bree, Christian “ADDICT” Pendleton, Corey “nettik” Browne, and Miłosz “mhL” Knasiak.

Talon CEO Sean Zhang spoke at length about the team's plans following the announcement, confirming that the team will spend most of its time in Europe, despite its roots in Asia. "If we want to be the best, we have to train with the best. EU CS2 is undoubtedly the best in the world right now. If we want our players to be on the same level, they have to feel the level of competition every day," Zhang said.

However, as the team is primarily Oceanian, the team falls under the broader Asia region and plans to return “home” to compete in key event qualifiers. The project has taken time to build, Zhang explained, with Talon consulting with various figures in Counter-Strike, including ownership at Brazilian organization FURIA and current commentator Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill to discuss an approach to developing the team.