GamersOrigin drop three, add Hqrdest, Leaf and PiPou for Contenders

Yesterday's Contenders Season One announcement came with a slew of new roster details as teams were forced to declare their Week 1 squads. While Misfits may have been stealing the headlines in Europe, GamersOrigin also confirmed the addition of a new trio: Hqrdest, Leaf and PiPou.

Earlier this month Hqrdest had travelled to Helsinki, Finland with the team to compete in the ASUS ROG Summer 2017 tournament as a stand-in for Thomas "zYKK" Hosono, but has now been upgraded to a fully-fledged starter on the DPS role.

Joining him on the damage dealing duties will be Leaf, who returns to the roster he had previously walked away from in June. Most recently seen playing for Mixy Mix, Leaf has been early adopter of Doomfist, giving fans a taste of what the hero is capable of during his Legend Series and ESL Go4 showings.

According to HyP, Leaf was "ready to play with us again" and "more motivated than ever". He cites him as "one of the best players in France", which made him an obvious choice to replace Jérémy "DixxyDix" Chaffraix, who the team decided to cut only two days before to the roster deadline.

DixxyDix had been one half of the ex-ShootingStars DPS duo that had joined GO in June and helped guide them to Contenders Season Zero qualification. His partner in crime, zYKK, only sixteen, has decided to step down at the behest of his parents, putting his pro career on hold for the next two years to focus on his studies.

Following their 2nd place finish at ASUS ROG, GamersOrigin concluded that it was time to part ways with their Lucio shotcaller, Martin "Noki" Cornet, feeling it was time for a change after a crushing 0-3 defeat at the hands of Team Giganti in the Grand Final. Former Team LDLC/Bonjour support PiPou was the man sought out by GO take over as main caller and breath some new life into proceedings.

GamersOrigin's first game of Seaosn One will pit them against Bazooka Puppiez, who they lost 0-2 in Season Zero Qualifier #1 back in June. Despite qualifying in 2nd place on Day 2, Season Zero would ultimately be a bust for GamersOrigin as they finished dead last in Group C behind Rest in Pyjamas and Team Singularity.

The demise of Movistar Riders has given them a shot at revenge in Season One, but as for just how much they paid for their Contenders spot, HyP remained tight-lipped, apologising "I'm not allowed to talk about that, sorry”. Well... we had to ask.

The new-look GamersOrigin roster for Contenders Season One is: