The eSports industry would be nothing without the Fnatic organization – the British eSports organization has signed nothing but elite rosters for each of the game titles they compete in. One of the biggest accomplishments for the Fnatic organization is undoubtedly their legendary CS:GO team, accumulating three major title wins in their unrivalled reign of dominance. But Fnatic, once touted as the best CS:GO team that has ever played the game, has seen inadequate results after breaking apart the roster on August 15th, 2016.
Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer is the face of the Fnatic CS:GO roster, but after his mid-season wrist injury the Swedish super team faced turmoil. During this time of hardship for Fnatic, personality clashes started to flair and the team eventually separated.
The Swedish dynasty had crumbled and GODSENT emerged from the ashes. Three players from Fnatic left to the new team – Jesper “JW” Wecksell, Robin “flusha” Ronnquist and Freddy “KRiMZ” Johansson – whilst olofmeister and Dennis “dennis” Edman decided to stay on the once glorious Fnatic roster.
Fnatic tried to make the separation work with several rehashed iterations of the new roster in the coming months… none of them prevailed.
Shortly after the decision to leave, KRiMZ returned from GODSENT to secure Fnatic the Legend’s spot in the upcoming ELEAGUE major. Swedish CS:GO has suffered since the split of the roster and it seems that each of the players have recognized that.
Once the number one team in the world, neither of the newly formed teams have broken into the top 15 since splitting. Yet rumours have recently surfaced that the old roster of Fnatic will be reformed once again after the ELEAGUE major. If the rumours are true, Fnatic fans can finally rejoice at the prospect of seeing their beloved players reunite once more having settled their differences.
The players contracts are remain an issue, as JW and flusha have only been playing on GODSENT for a total of five months. Fnatic would likely have to buy out their contracts in order to have the old roster back under one roof, though this seems like a small price to pay in the long run. The comeback of JW and flusha would recreate the most dominant CS:GO team of 2015 and early 2016. Many CS:GO fans hated their supremacy over the scene and have long been wishing for the roster to split up… those same fans are now mourning the loss of the imposing roster after seeing the void that has formed in their absence.
The re-emergence of the Fnatic roster could destroy the era of equity that currently grips CS:GO. No team has consistently been able to deliver performances like the old Fnatic roster – nearly every tournament has featured a new winner hoisting the trophy – even North American teams have started challenging top tier EU teams as the playing field smooths out.
In 2015, four of the Fnatic players were ranked in the top 10, with olofmeister at number one. At the close of 2016, only olofmeister and flusha broke into the top 10, with dennis barely on the list at 20.
With the old roster coming together, Fnatic can reinvent the wheel once again. Fnatic forced every team to adapt to their loose and fluid play style, breaking the conformity of structured CS:GO that we have seen in recent months. Fnatic will have no real in game leader once again and will simply demolish teams with raw skill. Watch out for the rebirth of Fnatic because it looks like 2017 will be the year of their second coming.
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