FaZe have thoroughly underwhelmed since their inception a month ago. The star-studded roster has been far less active in tournaments or scrims than the competition, and recently dropped out of the iBUYPOWER Summer Invitational after cutting half of their roster. To top it off, fRoD, evokje, and Veineless have all been removed from active duty according to a source close to the team.
FaZe is a name well known throughout esports, but when their Overwatch team was announced it was a break from the norm for the organisation. The roster was untested with an eclectic mix of new talents, old gods from other titles, and a beta superstar. Alongside the unproven mix of players they also had to contest with the 50/50 split of North American and European origins.
FaZe did not take part in smaller events before signing, unlike others in their position, perhaps due to conflicting timezones or a desire to conceal their strategies. Nevertheless, with talents like Mendokusaii and established names such as fRoD and clampOK on the roster, this team was aiming high and attempting to make the most of players with potential.
After announcing in time to compete in the OG Invitational, the team had a disappointing start under FaZe. They were knocked out of the tournament in groups by Northern Gaming Red after losing to EnVyUs, a result that would not have seemed so bad had they recovered in a later showing. Their fumbling start did not lead to a more industrious attitude though; their only other tournament showing was a loss to Selfless in the ESL Atlantic Showdown qualifiers after a month.
The team has allegedly had internal issues since its formation. Organisational abilities do not appear to be their strong suit, with many teams reportedly refusing to scrim them due to a lack of reliability. This spiralled out of control for the team after fRoD was removed from the roster just after OGI, and the team was further hit by Mendokusaii’s inability to play due to sickness.
With no practice, strong personalities, and frustration at their inability to reap from the fields of potential, FaZe’s clashes reached a peak last week. Veineless and evokje were cut days before the iBP Invitational as they reportedly “did not mesh with the team”.
Mendokusaii replied to allegations on twitter from ex-IDDQD player Taimou regarding his team dropping from the iBP Invitational, saying:
Our apologies for not showing up of course, but not everyone lives in a gaming house together under perfect circumstances sadly...my insomnia and sleep issues are pretty bad, wish I didn't have any!
The remaining members of FaZe did not comment on the recent cuts, and the organisation is expected to announce the roster moves in an official matter shortly.
Sources report that fRoD, Veineless, and evokje are still tied to FaZe and remain in talks about the next step. There are no confirmed replacements on support and flex as yet, though it seems the team planned to use LegitRc as a support player before this roster move.
FaZe was seen after this roster move playing with 2Easy and b1am in the most recent ESL Atlantic Showdown Qualifier. It is unclear whether the players were trialling or standing in. They were knocked out even earlier than before, by unknown team ohno, though the result is understandable given the circumstances and recent patch.
Further delays may put Mendo, clamp, and Wonderfuls out of practice for even longer. It will be a hard road back into relevance for FaZe.
The remaining players for FaZe are:
- Sabian "CLAMP" Hayblum (DPS)
- Kevin "Wonderfuls" Nguyen (Tank)
- Lucas "Mendokusaii" Håkansson (DPS/Flex)
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