North have announced that they have promoted Daniel "mertz" Mertz from their academy team to replace René "cajunb" Borg on their main roster.

The move follows North's disappointing campaign at ELEAGUE Major Boston, where they went out of the New Legends Stage with a shocking 0-3 record following defeats to Vega Squadron, Astralis and BIG.

The Danish side had come under pressure after a series of disappointing results had seen them end 2017 as only the ninth-best team in the world. During that year, the former dignitas team reached the final of three international events but won just one title, at DreamHack Open Montreal, as they fell short to G2 at both ESL Pro League Season 5 Finals and DreamHack Masters Malmö.

René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg, who has been moved to the bench for the time being, had been part of the team since May 2016, when he was involved in the trade deal that saw Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye move to Astralis from the then-dignitas squad. He had the worst tournament rating of North at ELEAGUE Major Boston, 0.73, after finishing all three matches in the red.

mertz is North's new AWPer

In a statement, North Director of Esports Jonas "⁠whimp⁠" Svendsen stressed that the organisation "needs to win titles" - a goal that he believes Daniel "⁠mertz⁠" Mertz will help them to reach.

The 19-year-old had long been tipped to break into the organisation’s main squad as soon as the opportunity arose. In 2017, he averaged a 1.18 rating on LAN and had above-average tournament ratings in all but two of the events he attended.

"I am honored to be given the opportunity to take a step up," mertz stated. "This is the reason I joined North Academy and what I have been working so hard for in the last ten months. "I am ready to give it my all and help North kick ass again", said Daniel “mertz” Mertz about the chance."

The announcement comes just a week after North brought Alexander "⁠ave⁠" Holdt over from the academy squad to coach their main roster, replacing Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due, who had been part of the team’s setup since May 2016.

mertz will make his first appearance for North at the $150,000 cs_summit 2, which will run from February 8-11 in Los Angeles, California.

North are now: