With just two weeks to go until the group stages of the Six Invitational 2020, the defending world champions, G2 Esports, have dropped Pascal “Cryn” Alouane in favour of a loan of former Mkers and PENTA player, Ferenc “SirBoss” Mérész.

The move comes after a mere two months with former OrgLess player Cryn, during which G2 Esports suffered a shock 1-2 loss to MIBR at the OGA PIT Minor before another shock 1-2 loss to MnM Gaming in the Six Invitational 2020 European qualifier. Despite these failures to qualify for the Invitational, though, the team was eventually the recipient of the direct invite to the tournament.

Cryn at the OGA PIT Minor.

Cryn also played in the first three weeks of the Pro League, during which G2 Esports won three games -- against Team BDS, forZe, and Natus Vincere -- but lost to Rogue, Vitality, and Chaos. In all of those games, however, Cryn either was the worst or second-worst performer on the team by the SiegeGG rating.

To know more, SiegeGG spoke to G2 Esports’ two coaches Tom “Shas[O]Udas” Lee and Kevin “Sua” Stahnke:

The experiment with Cryn, if I can call it that, was rather short-lived. What went wrong?

Shas: A team is, in my opinion, a complex system (especially over longer periods of time); I can't exactly pop the hood and tinker with every single component, I can only pull different levers and observe the outcome. I wish I could exactly pin down what was hindering us from re-creating Cryn's performance from CL, but as life is never simple, it’s probably a multitude of small things (ie. English Comm's, how we continually rotate whom we invest our resources into each round). The failure is on us (Players and Support Staff) just as much as it is on Cryn.

Will Cryn be released immediately, or will he be kept on until the end of his contract? (Or will he be kept as a substitute?)

Shas: We are still discussing his options with him, but will not be standing in the way should he wish to talk with any organisation or if any reach out to him, particularly for the upcoming transfer window. I honestly wish him nothing but the best. It didn’t work out this time, but that doesn’t mean it cannot work for him in another team or set-up.

It has been a while since SirBoss last played competitively. How did your team settle on him?

Sua: It got pretty silent around SirBoss after his departure from the Penta sports roster back in 2019. That said, we always knew that he is a really consistent Support player and after watching some of his games in the current CL Qualifier, we concluded pretty fast around the idea to try him out.

Did your team explore other potential options, or was SirBoss your first?

SirBoss at the Six Invitational 2019. (Photo: Bruno Alvares) Sua: The most obvious answer here is Panix who just learned that he will be considered a free agent for the remainder of the season. However, we think a dedicated Support player like SirBoss is a better fit that will be easier to integrate into our system. SirBoss is currently just on loan to us for the event, so we'll be accessing our options after SI2020.

With the change made so near the Six Invitational, are you going to be able to get him to gel with the team in time?

Sua: We are fairly confident that we can integrate SirBoss into the roster before the start of the Six Invitational. G2 is a big help here and we will start on Tuesday to bootcamp with SirBoss.

Will there be role shifts with SirBoss on the roster?

Shas: Not particularly; the core 4-man roster performs pretty well with our last iteration of roles. As Sua alluded to; having an experienced and dedicated support player join the roster doesn't disrupt our current structure in-game. We are however a very flexible team so we're still capable of throwing a few unexpected curveballs...

Cryn had joined the team to replace longtime support player Daniel “Goga” Mazorra Romero, but now finds himself replaced by former Mkers and PENTA player SirBoss.

SirBoss is no stranger to the Rainbow Six scene, having started his career in 2017. He truly rose to the attention of Pro League teams on T3H Esports, and was then signed by Mock-it Esports just days before the entire team was signed by PENTA. SirBoss stayed with the team for nearly a year, participating in a bevy of regional tournaments during his tenure.

Jess and SirBoss (foreground, left) at the Six Invitational 2019 with PENTA. (Photo: Bruno Alvares)

The addition of Jessica “Jess” Bolden to PENTA seemed to have kicked the team into gear. A fifth place in Season 8 of the Pro League was followed up by a second-place at the 6Cup 2018, win at the Castle Siege 2018, and a second-place at DreamHack Winter 2018. There, having lost in a respectable 1-2 fashion to a marauding G2 Esports, SirBoss and the team qualified for the Six Invitational 2019.

However, a failure to make it out of the groups there saw the team return home disappointed. SirBoss and PENTA would then finish fourth in Season 9 of the Pro League, but that would be the last appreciable success the team would achieve. Despite a smattering of regional victories, unenviable finishes at the Allied Esports Minor and DreamHack Valencia 2019 for a team seemingly on a previously upward trajectory were disappointing.

Subsequently benched, alongside the removal of Jess, he then joined Salamander, but controversy followed him as it had not been a PENTA-sanctioned loan. He was barred from playing, causing Salamander to be disqualified from the Challenger League. SirBoss was then loaned to Mkers, but failed to even qualify for the Challenger League despite his experience, thanks to being put onto a frag-oriented role.

Jess expressed disapproval at the role allocation on Mkers, describing him as “one of the most experienced and professional players” and one that “is good in high stress situations” but one that “thrives way better in support [roles]”. However, she was confident that he would thrive with G2 Esports, saying that “his specialization in support will allow G2 to jump the hurdle they've been facing”.

G2 Esports at the OGA PIT Minor.

Catch G2 Esports in action against Team Empire in the Pro League later tonight, with the following roster:

Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen

Fabian “Fabian” Hallsten

Juhani “Kantoraketti” Toivonen

Aleksi “UUNO” Työppönen

Ferenc “SirBoss” Mérész

Thomas “Shas[O]Udas” Lee (coach)

Kevin “Sua” Stahnke (coach)

Jack “Fresh” Allen (analyst)