Eighteen months after its resurrection, #Fnatic has officially announced that they intend to postpone their academy initiative in order to more thoroughly assess their position in the junior circuit.
Sebastian #volt Malos, Mikkel #Maze Sparvath, Matias #Banjo Kivistö, and Adam #WolfY Andersson will no longer serve as representatives for the black and orange, allowing the organization the freedom to consider its alternatives in the market.
The Academy Survivors
The London-based company also disclosed contract extensions for team director Andreas #Samuelsson Samuelsson and coach Jamie #keita Hall, which will keep them both committed to fnatic for an additional 12 months.
When numerous companies decided to restart the Counter-Strike academy circuit in 2021, the WePlay Academy League was established. Fnatic Rising participated in all six iterations of the competition. They won the fifth season and contributed significantly to the defeat of the four-time defending champions MOUZ NXT. The young team was unable to repeat the feat in the most recent game played, failing to make the playoffs.
The most recent change occurred in early December when Peppe #Peppzor Borak and fnatic Rising made the decision to separate ways. The Swedish rifler, who was the final original member of the academy team, frequently served as a fill-in or replacement on the senior roster, as was the case at the Elisa Masters Espoo 2022.
Peppzor had ambitions above the level of the academy circuit and chose to join the EYEBALLERS project, which is led by former fnatic players Robin #flusha Rönnquist and Jesper #JW Wecksell, after playing for fnatic's main team and winning a minor title with them.
“As these players graduate and other contracts expire, we'll be pausing the Fnatic Rising squad”, was said in a statement on the fnatic website. “Putting the roster on hold may surprise some, but we want to take the time to best strategize about our place in the CSGO academy leagues to best benefit both the players who attend the program and also Fnatic's overall plan.”
Fnatic’s Coaching Duo
By extending their contract, keita and Samuelsson will work with the company through the end of 2023. The Swede took on the role of team director for fnatic in 2021 after serving as the main roster's coach for nearly two years.
During that time, he oversaw fnatic's brief comeback at the end of 2019 and their victory at DreamHack Masters Malmö before the team's decline during the online era and their switch to a European roster.
As one of the final phases in fnatic's transformation from a Swedish-majority roster to a European project in 2021, keita took up Samuelsson's role as head coach.
