The Fnatic faithful have had a trying year that has seemingly only continued to spiral downward. Two long standing members of the CS:GO roster, Jesper “JW” Wecksell and Maikil “Golden” Selim, were moved to the benched and eventually off the team. In their stead, two largely unproven players from Cloud9’s CS:GO project took the lead and even the IGL position.
Why did Fnatic fall flat?
The team has since only found middling results, however IEM Fall has marked the team’s harshest failure to date. IEM Fall’s group stage has seen several upsets, particularly Group D has brought countless surprises. Fnatic found a winless finish, going 0-5 against all of their group opponents and showing little promise across each map.
Fnatic seem to be lost after their sweeping changes and their new members have yet to mesh with the veteran members of the roster. This incredibly disappointing finish marks the second time consecutively that Fnatic will miss a major. Fnatic is one of the most storied organizations in Counter-Strike, and their absence at PGL Stockholm will be felt dearly.
FaZe in dire straights
Meanwhile, other teams such as FaZe Clan are also at risk of missing the major. FaZe barely missed the cutoff. Also a team that had a massive roster overhaul at the beginning of the online era, FaZe find themselves in quite the similar position as Fnatic.
Ultimately, both teams have struggled in recent months but Fnatic’s road has conclusively ended. While FaZe still has a chance, the odds are certainly slim.
More CS:GO
- CS:GO reveals Operation Riptide – What you need to know
- Getting consistent – How to become better at spraying in CS:GO
- CS:GO 101 – Finding out what guns work for you