The Fnatic Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team has shuffled AWPer Owen “smooya” Butterfield to the bench following the club’s elimination from IEM Katowice.
Fnatic, who settled for a 9th-12th place finish at IEM Katowice, elevated Iulian “regali” Harjau into the lineup in place of smooya.
smooya made a strong impact with Fnatic shortly after joining the team in October, helping it win DreamHack Open in November before his fortunes slowly changed.
“We acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and amazing plays smooya put into our Katowice run but we have come to the conclusion that he is currently not the right fit for our main CS:GO roster,” Fnatic team director Andreas “Samuelsson” Samuelsson said. “We think now is the best time to allow smooya to explore his options within the game.
“Owen has given his all to Fnatic and contributed greatly to our performances over the past few months. Myself and the entire team wish to thank him for the great memories we have shared and the entertainment he has provided.”
regali, a 19-year-old Romanian, has fared well with fnatic Rising since July 2021.
–Field Level Media
