European esports giants Epsilon have confirmed the signing of 17-year-old UK CSGO player Owen “smooya” Butterfield.
smooya was most recently playing with UK org Team Endpoint and his move to Epsilon was rumoured earlier this month.
The process was drawn-out somewhat after it was rumoured Epsilon refused to pay his £15,000 buyout clause, apparently offering a lower amount instead.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of Epsilon Esports and really do hope to show my full potential.”
smooya
Epsilon said they came to an agreement on transfer terms with Endpoint, and wish the UK org ‘the best of luck in the future’. Both teams will be playing one another in the upcoming Gfinity Elite Series this summer.
Epsilon recently parted ways with draken, REZ and kalle, and have now replaced them with smooya, maeVe and cosmeeeN, as reported by HLTV.
smooya said he’s grateful to Epsilon and hopes to show his full potential.
I’m so grateful to be apart of @Epsilon_eSports and really do hope to show my full potential. Thanks for the support guys!! #UKCS
— Owen Butterfield (@smooyacs) June 13, 2017
Even tho the grind payed of its time to continue to hopefully reach a level no one thought I could.
— Owen Butterfield (@smooyacs) June 12, 2017
He also made this play in his first match with Epsilon:
[#ESEA]
Premier match et première victoire pour nos #EpsiCSGO ?@smooyacs n’a pas fait dans la dentelle avec son AWP pour son premier match? pic.twitter.com/gwqLaVHxmB— Epsilon eSports FR (@EpsiFrance) June 13, 2017
Epsilon said in a statement: “Struggling to find a perfect Swedish mixture with our recent departures, we saw this as a perfect opportunity to assemble for the first time in our Counter-Strike history an international team.
“Another challenge but with the same philosophy – build a team around young and talented players and veteran players.”
Epsilon added that they are ‘aware of the risk’ they’re taking by signing young players including 18-year-old cosmeeeN.
“We are aware of the risk we are taking by taking young players. However, as we did with Flusha, JW, Draken, Rez, Disco Doplan and many others, we want to give them the opportunity to shine on a big stage!”
Epsilon Esports
“However, as we did with Flusha, JW, Draken, Rez, Disco Doplan and many others, we want to give them the opportunity to shine on a big stage,” Epsilon said.
The new Epsilon roster is as follows:
Cosmin-Mihai ‘cosmeeeN’ Butuc
Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield
Lasse ‘maeVe’ Elgaard
André ‘BARBARR’ Möller- Fredrik ‘freddieb’ Buö
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
