Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau will leave Fnatic when his contract expires Nov. 16 as he seeks a return to the top lane for the 2022 season, according to a report by DotEsports.
Bwipo spent the past four years with Fnatic, transitioning from the top lane to jungler for the 2021 LEC Summer Split. He also has experience in the mid lane and AD carry roles.
However, Fnatic went 1-5 in the Worlds 2021 group stage after AD Carry Elias “Upset” Lipp withdrew before the event due to personal reasons. Bwipo’s relationship with the team also came into question after he reportedly unfollowed Fnatic’s official Twitter account during the event.
“Don’t read into things too much. Just need a break from socials,” Bwipo tweeted Oct. 11.
However, his future with the team again came into question the following week when he posted a TwitLonger with a comment of “Worlds and who made it work.” Bwipo said he was “indefinitely” leaving social media due to online comments made toward his girlfriend, Lena.
In the lengthy post, Bwipo credited Lena for pushing him to continue on in Worlds despite Upset’s departure. He said the players had “no information about what was going on.” Meanwhile, he said Lena received death threats on social media due to the perception that she was the cause of Bwipo’s distress during the event.
“I was so frustrated with how it was handled,” he continued. “I unfollowed FNATIC and it’s management in my anger. I had nothing to say about the situation. It was dawned upon me and the rest of the team all of a sudden with no warning. It felt so unfair.”
Bwipo has already drawn interest from several League of Legends teams, including some in North America, according to the DotEsportss report. That includes Team Liquid should current top laner Barney “Alphari” Morris departs this offseason.
Fnatic originally sign Bwipo as a substitute in 2018 and joined the starting lineup fulltime after Paul “sOAZ” Boyer’s departure following the 2018 World Championship. Bwipo helped the team win two European LCS titles while reaching four Worlds.
–Field Level Media
