Alistair "aliStair" Johnston and Matthew "Valiance" Hartrick Depart SemperFi

Alistair "aliStair" Johnston and Matthew "Valiance" Hartrick Depart SemperFi

SemperFi, the Australian Counter‑Strike 2 roster, has officially announced that two of its key players—AWPer Alistair "aliStair" Johnston and rifler MATTHEW "Valiance" Hartrick—have exited the lineup and entered free agency.

The team revealed that Kristers "keen" Dārznieks will take over sniper duties while they search for new roster additions.

Statements and Background

aliStair commented on the move via his official X (Twitter) account:

"We didn't reach our potential and yield the results over at SemperFi. I wish the players nothing but luck with the rest of their journey." 

SemperFi, via their own social media, added a note of thanks:

"We say goodbye to two veterans of Oz CS Alistair and Valiance. Thanks for all your hard work over the past months and year."

Tenure and Performance

aliStair:

Joined SemperFi in mid-March 2025, previously with FlyQuest.

Over the past three months with the team, he posted an average rating of 1.08 across 31 maps.

Over his career, he has participated in five Majors (two with Renegades, two with Grayhound, one with FlyQuest), exiting at the Challenger/Openers Stage each time.

Valiance:

An Australian rifler who joined SemperFi around July 2024 and was part of the roster through September 2025.

His recent rating over three months stood at 1.10, placing him in the top ~25 % bracket.

Prior to SemperFi, Valiance played for various Australian teams, including ORDER, VERTEX, Bad News Kangaroos, among others.

Team Standing and Outlook

Currently, SemperFi is ranked around #102 globally in Valve's world ranking and #109 in HLTV's standings—placing them likely outside contention for the upcoming Budapest Major.

Regionally (Asia), SemperFi holds the 11th spot in VRS points, further limiting opportunities to qualify for major events.

The team previously secured victories at CCT Season 3: Oceania S1 and ESL Challenger League S50: Oceania Cup 1, but inconsistent performance in regional qualifiers hindered momentum.

Summary Table

Extra Context

• When aliStair joined SemperFi in March 2025, the team reorganized: Kristers “keen” Dārznieks shifted to rifling duties while aliStair took over as AWPer. This move occurred alongside the appointment of coach David "Kingfisher" Kingsford, with whom aliStair previously worked in Renegades and Grayhound.

• Performance highlights include winning ESL Challenger Atlanta 2024 (international LAN) with FlyQuest—aliStair’s only LAN trophy outside Australia—and key regional wins with SemperFi