Better Collective announces redundancies, Dust2 esports coverage sites affected
Sports betting media group Better Collective have announced a round of layoffs that have affected around 300 people across the company, including staff from Esports coverage sites Dust2.se and Dust2.us.
The layoffs, which include Dust2.us Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Friend, Senior Writer Jeff Moore and the entirety of Dust2.se staff, will result in Dust2.se being shutdown.
The outcome first came to light when Friend took to social media to announce that he had been laid off from the company. Dust2.us is a website dedicated to providing news and coverage of the North American Counter-Strike scene.
According to Friend, the news came as a shock as the Dust2.us team continued to hit every target set by Better Collective. However, the parent company had a year of underperformance which led to the layoffs. Friend was also keen to point out that the decision had not come from the HLTV.org team, but rather Better Collective.
Following this news, full-time Senior Writer Jeff Moore announced that he was being let go from the outlet. Other members of the Dust2.us team, which is made up of freelancers, made similar announcements.
Better Collective became a major shareholder of HLTV in 2020 to buy all rights to the website, including affiliated regional sites such as; Dust2.us, se, dk, br and others.
166fauesde
FURIA snatch victory over FUT and advance to the main stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026FURIA defeat FUT in a close best-of-three, with molodoy starring as they clinch the last qualification spot for BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 in Malta.193fauesdeTeam Vitality defeat EYEBALLERS and qualify for the LAN stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026Vitality edge past EYEBALLERS at BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier, surviving a dramatic Anubis overtime to qualify for the LAN finals in Malta.166fauesdeTeam Spirit defeated Inner Circle and advanced to the LAN stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026Team Spirit advanced to the LAN stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 after a convincing 2–0 win over Inner Circle, with donk delivering a standout MVP performance.292fauesdeLiquid defeat Gentle Mates and advance to the main stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026Liquid advance to the main stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 after a 2–1 win over Gentle Mates, dominating Mirage and Nuke to qualify for the LAN event.311fauesdeHEROIC defeat paiN and become the first team to qualify for the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 LANHEROIC outplayed paiN to become the first team qualified for the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 LAN in Malta, with nilo earning MVP honors in the series.387fauesdeFURIA defeat 9INE and secure the final spot in the next stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026FURIA defeat 9INE on Anubis and Inferno to qualify for the next stage of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026. molodoy leads the way as 9INE exit the event.
