London-based esports organisation Fnatic have made a number of changes to their CSGO team, including their main roster and separate Fnatic Rising academy side.
Pro team changes follow ‘difficult period of mixed results’
First up, Fnatic’s main CSGO team has gone through a number of tweaks after failing to qualify for the PGL Antwerp Major, which was won on the weekend by FaZe Clan.
Swedish player Peppzor has been moved to the Fnatic Rising academy roster, while UK player Alex and Bulgarian Poizon have been benched to the inactive roster.
Fellow UK player Mezii has survived the drop, as has Swedish player Krimz, as Fnatic look to build their first team around them. The news comes after Fnatic benched UK player Smooya, who then joined Into the Breach.
Fnatic said in an announcement post: “After a difficult period of mixed results and failed qualifications for key events in the CSGO calendar, we’ve come to the decision to make a variety of changes to our pro roster.
“Our main focus is to create and field a competitive, confident and chemistry-filled roster that reflects what we both expect and desire from our presence within the title.”
Fnatic
“Alex remains a confident and skilled IGL. However, we believe it is within both parties’ interest to explore new options in terms of the direction and leadership for the squad. We want to thank Alex for his work ethics and contributions to our team in the last few months, and we will work with Alex and his representatives closely to map out his next career options.”
Alex added in a Twitlonger post: “It was always going to be a huge challenge to rebuild Fnatic into a title-winning team again, particularly following the departure of Brollan. However, I am proud to have led the org from being ranked 65th in the world to 11th. In terms of the future, I joined Fnatic with the goal of winning titles and this remains my ultimate goal. I am excited for what the future has to bring and am keen to explore my options across CSGO at an org that shares my ambition to not only compete, but to win at the highest level.”
The new Fnatic first team will be competing in the Pinnacle Cup at the start of June 2022.
UK CSGO player Volt joins Fnatic Rising academy team
Fnatic have signed UK player Volt and Danish player Maze to their Fnatic Rising academy roster.
Volt joins from Fambit and Maze played with Ambush earlier this year.
The news of Volt joining Fnatic Rising was first reported by UKCS.gg.
The Fnatic Rising academy roster now consists of Peppzor, Banjo, Regali, Maze and Volt.
They will take part in the new season of the WePlay Academy League this week.
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.
