In the aftermath of their futile run at the Europe Minor of StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019, fnatic have taken a couple of crucial decisions. London based organization has benched Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström and Simon ‘twist’ Eliasson to enter ‘a new phase for CS:GO’. Their recent performances have been quite lackluster and the fans are extremely disappointed about their absence at the upcoming major. “We set goals and we failed,” fnatic wrote on Twitter.
For the first time in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, fnatic won’t be attending a major. Richard has been quite inconsistent in the fragging department while his style of calling has not yielded results. Fnatic seems to be replying more towards Jesper “JW” Wecksell, Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson and Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and plans to build their roster around the trio for the upcoming season of action packed Counter-Strike.
Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström: “I’m thankful for the opportunity that Fnatic gave me to play there again and it’s unfortunate we were unable to accomplish the goals we made when the team was created.”
“During my time at Fnatic, there have been many ups but mostly downs. We showed some good results and played in two Premier finals but we couldn’t come out on top in either. However, lately, it’s only gotten worse and it has become clear that it’s time for a change.”
“I know I haven’t been playing well lately and certainly far from the level where I want to be myself. I think being on the bench will be beneficial for Fnatic and also have a positive effect on me in the long-run. I have no excuses for my bad performances and I only see this as a time for me to work even harder, to keep my head up, focus on myself and improve my individual skill. I am sure there will be more vetoes from me in grand finals in the near future!”
“I wish the team nothing but the best going forward – they have good players and Fnatic as an organisation is one of the best in esports.”
Simon ‘twist’ Eliasson: “I do want to thank Fnatic for the opportunity once again and I’ll continue always trying to make Swedish CS fans proud.”
Andreas Samuelsson, Director, CS:GO Team: “I want to thank Simon and Richard for everything we have achieved together.”
“Both of these players have been very professional during their time with Fnatic. We had a great time together outside the server and they showed good potential in Shanghai and Sydney; it’s a great shame we never found any consistency nor the right chemistry in-game to achieve our goals.”
“Given the magnitude of failing to qualify for a Major for the first time in Fnatic’s history, a change was indeed necessary. Now, sadly without Simon and Richard, we must build a strong, consistent line-up for the future and bring Fnatic back to the very top.”
“I wish them both nothing but the best for the future.”
“For the first instance in Fnatic’s history, our efforts were not sufficient enough to secure ourselves a place at the Major – our lowest point in a long journey of Counter-Strike,” fnatic wrote in a statement. However, fnatic have a long break to fix things. Their next event will be DreamHack Malmö in the first week of October. Fnatic’s roster for the time being is:
- Jesper “JW” Wecksell
- Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson
- Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin
- Jimmy “Jumpy” Berndtsson (coach)
- Richard “Xizt” Landström (benched)
- Simon “twist” Eliasson (benched)
