M80 has made a drastic and sudden move, benching Matthew ‘Hotancold’ Stevens after the organization failed to qualify for the BLAST R6 Salt Lake City Major. The IGL had been in the spot since being picked up in March 2025, assuming control of the M80 banner alongside his championship-winning beastcoast teammates.
In the last two years, Hotancold stormed to success at the BLAST R6 Major Manchester and the BLAST R6 Major Munich (just a few months ago), which he mentioned when venting his frustrations recently on social media.
Hotancold Doesn’t Understand M80’s Bench Spot
On social media, M80 released a statement regarding the benching of Hotancold, a two-time Major winner and eight-year veteran of the game:
Since stepping int othe IGL role in March 2025, Matt led us to a Major championship in Munich and helped define what this team could be. He has been an integral part of the success we’ve had together, and we can’t thank him enough for his contributions.
Moving forward, we will be trialing players in the coming weeks and will share more news once these trials are complete.
A proper goodbye will come in time. For now – thank you, Matt. We’re wishing you nothing but success wherever your journey takes you next.
The fan backlash was almost immediate, with one user spouting: ‘Benching the only NA IGL to win an event (let alone two) in years is certainly a choice.’
Hotancold then posted twelve minutes later, stunned by the news:
Woke up and am now benched, obviously haven’t been playing the best lately but I think this move is made without thinking what we made with beastcoast/m80. (The ONLY NA team to win anything in 4 years). Initial thought is I still want to play obviously, but we will see what’s next
Three days ago, M80 failed to clinch qualification to the Salt Lake City Major. They fell out of the running in seventh place in the NAL Kickoff, and instead, the four spots went to:
- Five Fears
- Wildcard
- DarkZero
- Shopify Rebellion
Do you think M80 has made a weird move by benching Hotancold? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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