With FACEIT Major London coming to an end, the post-Major player shuffle season is starts. This time teams will be fighting against the clock to sign up their desired squads as ESL will be closing the roster list for the 8th season of EPL this Friday.

For this years shuffle season, we see FNATIC being the first team to send a player to the bench. Obviously, changes won’t be exclusive to the Swedes as rumours point to North and Mousesports to follow FNATIC soon. So, what are the players being swapped and what is happening with those three teams?

FNATIC ends a long-standing relationship

This Friday, some unexpected news was announced to every CS:GO fan. FNATIC is benching Robin “flusha” Rönnquist and until a proper replacement is signed, ScreaM will be fielding in. Flusha joined FNATIC back in August of 2013 and only left the team briefly in 2016. In February of 2017, he returned to FNATIC where he has been ever since.

In his journey with FNATIC, Flusha won three Majors, a feat only achieved by two players in the history of CS:GO. Moreover, Flusha achieved his spot as one of the most iconic players in CS:GO story.

His removal caught fans by surprise. However, analyzing his stats over the past months and FNATIC’s overall form, it was clear that the team needed a change. For the first time ever, FNATIC couldn’t retain their spot as a Legend in the Valve’s Major circuit.

A last place finish in Dreamhack Masters Stockholm and 5-6th placing in ELEAGUE Premier 2018 didn’t helped too. Considering that Flusha had a decisive impact in FNATIC’s win at IEM Katowice 2018 but didn’t kept the same level of performance after it, his benching makes more sense.

Our preferred bookmaker to bet on CS:GO:

Rivalry – $1.50 Freebet & potential bonuses of $350

Who’s on the list for FNATIC now?

The obvious answer appears to be the 23-year old Twist who just got benched from RED Reserve. A versatile player who mastered the AWP and AK-47, twist has been requested multiple times by the major Swedish teams. Although he denied the chance most of times, this might be time to step up for him.

ScreaM joining as a temporary replacement might means a second option though. The Belgium addition could signify that FNATIC is willing to try an international squad, much like Cloud9 and North did lately.

Breaking through the international scene, more options could be available for the team. Especially if the team is also looking to replace ‘draken’, who have achieved a non-impressive 0.95 rating since he joined the team three months ago.

North not quite there with their roster changes

Over the course of their history, North roster changes have always been criticized by fans and analysts alike. The team went through a rough phase earlier this year and had to make serious changes in the player break.

Of course, lifting the trophy in Stockholm was supposed to stabilize this team. That idea was thrown off a window when the team was eliminated in the first stage of the Major just one week later. Additionally, due to the difference in the coaching rule of DHM Stockholm and the Major, as in the former the coach is allowed to freely talk with his team, something very wrong in the way that MSL ran his team was exposed.

Now, the rumors indicates that the only remaining player from the 2017’s North lineup is the one saying goodbye. ‘MSL’ is supposed to be exchanged by ‘cadiaN’ from Rogue. This is not the only change though, as ‘niko’ is also rumored to end his trial. Gade would be the final piece to join the squad as he is returning from a loan to OpTic.

This will be the first time that North replaces it’s in-game leader and that could finally bring the team to it’s full potential. Or it could also turn this nightmarish situation in a true nightmare.

Why MSL?

MSL have been criticized ever since the Dignitas breakthrough in 2016. More than once, he had a world-class capable team but couldn’t keep it on the top. However, he was still respected as a tactician. When we look at his game plan through North timeline, we often could see modified versions of SK, Astralis, and even FaZe schemes. For the better or worse, MSL’s squads had the tendency to have sudden triumphs and slowly fall in ranks as the times goes on.

His leave might mean that North as an organization isn’t believing him anymore. cadiaN in the other hand managed to bring a team of misfits from Rogue after being rejected by the Danish scene to the Major. He also occupies a similar position as MSL does in the current North lineup: IGL and awper.

Gade for Niko is a strange change though. When joining North, Niko was praised for bringing a more cheerful atmosphere to the team. Furthermore, he also took some chores from aizy, causing the massive boost in aizy’s performance.

Gade in the other hand was quite a mixed bag in OpTic. When his team performed well, he would also follow suit. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be OpTic’s savior, and he has way less experience than Niko.

Exchanging MSL for cadiaN is a welcome change for North. Gade for Niko is a questionable one. Fortunately, North will be able to test out their roster in a LAN tournament in early October with StarSeries i-League Season VI.

Mousesports disappointing showing at the Major calls for a change

Mousesports added Snax shortly before the player break starts. Since then, we watched the Polish player having briefs periods of brilliance. Overall though, Mousesports didn’t came better than they did before removing ‘STYKO’.

Their worst result this year though came in the most important tournament. In FACEIT Major London 2018, Mousesports was eliminated in the second stage without a single win. This means that the team will be having to join the qualifiers for the Minor of the next Major.

According to rumors though, a change is already in the way. ‘oskar’ is the player being quoted to be benched while no definitive replacement has been mentioned by any sources. There might be an interest on ‘byali’, who just left Virtus.Pro but nothing too conclusive.

Is oskar the right player to be benched?

Since late 2017 we have been watching the breakthrough of oskar as a world-class player. Since ROG Masters EMEA Finals back in October of that year, Oskar hadn’t a single negative rating in LAN events. This was true until ESL One Cologne 2018. There, he had a 0.99 rating, and in the Major, he felt a bit further to a 0.87 rating.

Besides it, oskar also played a very important role in Mousesports wins in V4 Festival and StarSeries i-League Season IV. The reason for his benching is supposedly by dint of his personal issues and difficult personality.

Something clearly happened to him based on his latest ratings and Mousesports isn’t doing as well as they could. Oskar definitely has the potential to play in the level desired by his actual team, but he might just not fit anymore in ChrisJ plans.

Mousesports could be interested in twist according to a popular insider, possibly starting a buyout war between them and FNATIC.

Teams will have until Friday to send over rosters

One week is all that most teams from the pro scene have to make the desired roster moves. The reason why this shorter period is that the ESL Pro League Season 8 roster lock is due then.

So, which teams do you expect to make a change in the meantime? Who are the ones to make through the shuffle season untouched? Tell us below!