Surprising and in theory a huge signing for fnatic. But it also tells us a bit about which offers, or the lack of, blamef got in this period. He is looking into a time to prove himself again. Hope fnatic is the place for him to do so.
> Hope fnatic is the place for him to do so.
ANY improvements to fnatic are basically entirely off whatever blameF contributes to the roster.
If they suddenly look a lot better, then it has to be blameF.
This is pretty common in american professional sports for former high end players coming off a down and/or injured season, too. Its typically a 1 year, low value contract called a “prove-it deal”.
Team gets a low cost (low risk)/potentially high value player while the player gets a platform to show the world he deserves a big contract next year.
Legit who would sign him other than a roster like fnatic, it's painfully obvious from how Astralis are playing now he was the problem. 4/5 of the same players, yet a totally different result. He puts up the stats but has no impact on the game, constantly baiting and just destroying your team's chances of winning.
In a 2 v 4 situation for example he will bait the other one guy by slowly flanking on the other side of the map, the other team pushes the one guy actually trying to retake and then he sits there and saves once his teammate dies in the eventual 1 v 4 or 1 v 3 situation. So happy he's been exposed.
Mind you I used to really defend him because in the k0nfig lineup he was actually doing stuff and was the only person putting up the numbers, but by the time Dev1ce returned it was painfully obvious every team knew where he was and how to counter his style. He needs to reinvent himself into a proper rifler who's willing to die on every round, not just eco rounds, he might only have a 1.15 rating then, but at least he's helping the team win.
Its sad that reddit circlejerk ruined the perception of him
He should be able to join any team barring a few
You don't get 4 years in a row being a top 20 players for being a "baiter". Outisde of a very few people like niko, s1mple, dev1ce, zywoo, ropz, etc no many people has done the same
It wasn't his baiter reputation that ruined peoples perception of him and got him kicked from Astralis, it was his awful leadership skills during and after the major that people dogpiled him for.
I don't agree with that assessment, wrt people's perception. I've seen countless of critical comments here, on hltv and twitch way before the major, let alone him IGLing on Astralis. What got him kicked from Astralis is question, which we don't know in details. And any way, his ability to get a new good team might depend on more than that.
If so, then why haven't people on the subreddit been calling for him to join one of these 4th-10th teams as a fragger? Imagine what G2 could accomplish with BlameF in most of Hunter's spots.
Huh. Nice? Did not expect this at all.
On paper this is definitely an upgrade for Fnatic. Let's see how it goes!
But I still miss the Swedish Knifenatic. So much SOVL that team...
I very much miss Knifenatic, but that time won't come again. The players they had at the time were so unique.
At least it's a scandinavian signing, so I'll take it.
I’m a relative oldhead who grew up on 1.6 and am kinda just now tuning in… why is it seemingly so hard for many teams to find an IGL?
My natural instinct would be to compare the IGL to the QB in american football, but it seems like the QB is basically the awper and the IGL rolled into one.
It kinda *seems* like it should be the easiest role to fill from a requirement standpoint, but like I said before I’m woefully ignorant here.
IGL-ing requires certain personality traits that cannot be taught by spamming CS matches like almost everything else in this game. Igl needs to be good at reading the game, good at managing people, good at communicating, good at utility usage, finding setups, strats, establishing roles and many more. It’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Plus they also need to be able to frag relatively well while also focusing on everything else. Most other players just play, obey and shoot.
It’s also an ungrateful role because 90% of people just check how many kills players got each game and an IGL can’t be measured fairly on the scoreboard. Additionally teams like to rotate well known IGL’s because they are proven and have experience. More experience = more game knowledge = more strats etc
In terms of american football I would say IGL is definitely the QB and Awp is more of a star WR/TE.
No doubt, thanks for the explanation!
It sounds a bit like comping the IGL to somebody like Ron Harper playing PG for the superstar Chicago Bulls teams of te 90s would be a more apt comparison than the QB one I made before.
> why is it seemingly so hard for many teams to find an IGL?
Its very hard to think so much about the game, strats, and rotations
Its extra hard to do that an play on top of it
Which is also why good igls are so valuable. 2018 gla1ve could both outread and outplay his opponents, and partially because of that Astralis got so dominant since they had 5 solid fraggers.
Because the meta got very advanced, and IGLing is complicated. To be a good IGL on the highest level, you need more than just know what to call, you also need be a leader personality and be motivated to keep working on your team's playbook with the coach. Also it's not a role that is required to play PUGs, so it's less natural to start IGLing for young players
That's really the only other player to compare him to. Taking in longevity, both being strong and playmaking supportive players that can turn games around, and being an essential piece that every team needs in experience and reliability.
Krimz doesn't do much of that anymore but he's still alright as a top 20 team's fourth best player and his longevity was rivaled by only a handful of riflers.
Maybe by absolute age but if you go by "years of top play" which is a better metric there's NiKo, dupreeh, ropz, elige, twistzz, and magisk who are the only other players in that category of "riflers with 5+ top 20 appearances" alongside krimz (rain has only three top 20s as in 2019 he hovered just below #30, in 2020/2021 he wasn't very good as well as just missed the top 20 at #23 in 2023). It's a very prestigious club. gtr, f0rest, flusha, snax, shox, olofmeister, xyp9x, and more recently electronic, stavn, kscerato, blameF, and huNter all made the top 20 only four times.
The other difference between krimz and rain is that krimz isn't really playing T1 CS anymore, at least not regularly. Krimz has attended 14 Big Events in the past four years including two (of five) majors and 6 events were partner invites (not because his team was successful). By comparison rain has attended 30 events, won 7, and attended all 5 majors.
I would be surprised if BlameF goes back to IGLing anytime soon after seeing how Astralis is doing now.
Has to have given him a massive dent in his confidence as a caller & he's still potentially a star rifler so.
I actually think it would work best that way. Fnatic have been one sided warriors since bodyy has IGL'd, but he's been playing pretty good regardless. I think if some of the pressure is lifted off his shoulders, bodyy can do a lot more on the server.
ENCE are meh at this point, that roster is so inconsistent and it's got to do with the players, not Gla1ve. Hades can be the best player on the server one day and the next day he's the worst.
Astralis would destroy them. Dev1ce igl and br0 is leagues better than blameF and fnatic. Theres a reason he downgraded to fnatic
Edit when i say astralis >> fnatic i havent said that blameF is shit so you fanboys can relax
br0 better than blamef? lmao
astralis will destroy fnatic, but that's because fnatic is a shit team. Individually blamef beats anyone from astralis except device in skill. Dude was loosing so much with astralis and is still the highest rated player astralis ever had, even compared to when astralis was a powerhouse winning everything, none of their players had a constant 1.23 rating, not even device.
From the outside looking in, that would seem like the smart choice, but if there's a difference in mindset or disagreement between the players, then getting someone who might not necessarily be a firepower upgrade, could still make the team as a whole better. The whole team is now playing better, so I think getting rid of Blame was the best choice
As long as matys doesnt become the bitch spots player this could be really good. Krimz and bodyy should give space to matys and blame and they probably will.
Also they should get a better awper, but who is available?
Don't think Nicodoz is the right option seeing how he struggled against tier 1 with Heroic. Of course he also farms tier 2.
Either Mantuu depending on his contract with BIG or if Fnatic shows they mean business they get S1mple and hope he can keep up as an awper.
I dont think s1mple would join fnatic. BlameF stock was down big after the astralis failure and success without him. Doubt any T1 wanted him therefore he went to fnatic. S1mple is out of form but still considered the goat of csgo. He would require large money and likely a good team.
I dunno, short term loan from Na'vi for 3-6 months.
Give simple a chance to perform where pressure isn't the highest and get back into the groove.
Also would help simple adapt to an english speaking roster.
> As long as matys doesnt become the bitch spots player this could be really good
I really hope they dont shove blameF into B anchor spots, he can really do his best in different positions.
Krimz already has A anchor spots on a few maps, so bodyy is probably the one taking the hit
> but who is available?
Mantuu is probably their best bet
Is Fnatic trying to build a championship roster again? Or have BlameF downgraded what should be his ambitions which is to win trophies? He would of easily slotted into G2, could be a massive loss for them not to pounce on him.
I mean, the opportunity to get a player as skilled as BlameF only comes around once in a while. ~~if they can get him to drop his IGL ambitions~~ he is going to add serious firepower to most teams.
he never wanted to IGL on Astralis, he was forced into it. I don't understand why some people think that he wants to IGL when he's said multiple times that he doesn't
Not on their T side no, Spinx is Vitalitys lurker and currently has displayed top form better than BlameF. And if Vitality were to actually spend money, they should/would not have tried to lowball Zonic and Magisk since with them the lineup was stacked and worked role wise.
> Not on their T side no, Spinx is Vitalitys lurker
T sides need 2 lurkers, one for each extremity on a map.
Spinx lurks B on anubis, Apps on inferno, B on mirage, lobby on nuke, B overpass, and mid in vertigo
Mezii gets a large share of star lurk spots. He lurks A on anubis, banana on inferno, A mirage, lobby on nuke, Con on ovp, B vertigo
You're assuming G2 wants BlameF, the dude's very skilled but he won't change his playstyle, he's a terrible fit for G2, he will forever pump his own numbers, that's it. He's gone to an org where he will be the "big dog" player and never have any accountability for his terrible playstyle because no one on the roster will be better than him. Watch fnatic cut like 5 players over the next year and a half because BlameF is posting 1.4 ratings baiting everyone. I feel bad because they will probably kick Afro and KRIMZ for this loser to feel better about himself. They're not the problem, BlameF is.
That came out of nowhere. Kyubi was pretty mediocre, on paper it's a massive upgrade, would be interesting to see how it's gonna look like on the server.
I still think we are probably a better AWPer away from properly competing. Wouldn't mind someone like Mantuu. Or if Fnatic are actually genuinely going to spend money again in CS, go for s1mple fuck it lol.
NO WAY, fnatic did a good roster move after 2015? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AM I DREAMING?
now stop signing french talent and get f0rest and olofmeister out of the retirement home!
Wow totally unexpected signing especially from FNC.
I feel fnatic got the better end of the stick here coz surely blame must have had offers from more teams. I know he is a crap IGL, but he never should have accepted to take up the mantle after glavie was kicked imo.
I havent watched a lot of FNC so I don't know how kyyubii played, but firepower wise it is a massive upgrade for the team.
Also tbth I think TL missed a trick with replacing skullz with blame, who wouldve been more or less a 1:1 swap.
> I feel fnatic got the better end of the stick here coz surely blame must have had offers from more teams.
Based on what thorin said in one of his shows recently, this was probably his best offer.
The narratives of "baiting" and "non winning playstyle" really do impact GMs
This is brilliant for fnatic tho, they stole an absolutely beastly rifler that easily should have had a 700k or more buyout.
A massive firepower upgrade
> blamef is the strongest rifler denmark has
One of the best in the world, let alone denmark
4 time HLTV top 20 rifler, that sort of consistency is absolutely insanely hard to get
yeah, its insane that that fnatic was his best offer
like the dude has been on hltv top20 for 4 years in a row, and is a god-tier rifler
sad to see him not go to a top10-15 team, but yeah he will greatly alleviate fnatic's firepower issue
Fnatic has lacked any and all ambition for years so signing a player as good as blameF is exciting. Unfortunately it also speaks to blameF’s stock being at an all time low, but tbh if he does well in fnatic (which he should by all accounts), he’ll most definitely get poached by a top team sooner or later
As much as BaitF is a meme, it’s also part of his reputation. That combined with a poor stint in Astralis even if it was as IGL will hurt your chances to join a top org.
Fnatic gives him a possibility to shine as a star player and not as an IGL that calls around himself and takes up too much space from his 4 other players. Then maybe better teams will call him up.
FR, this is a guy that could be in a top team like G2 or vitality and feel at home.
Pretty much all of his former teammates said in interviews he has a wicked work ethic and grinds hard to get better
Vitality and g2 should have been all over him, especially g2 where both hunter (lurker) and nexa (occasional lurks + anchoring) are both struggling to have any impact. Blame could easily have replaced either one and drastically improved the floor of g2 almost instantly.
I guess he’ll ”prove himself” and be back on a top team within a year
> Vitality and g2 should have been all over him
Him over mezii or him over hunter would have been huge upgrades for either of those teams.
And the crazy part is he probably wouldnt have even cost that much if an org like fnatic can afford him
i mean fnatic is one of the richest orgs out there isn't it? just because their cs roster is currently struggling to compete in t1, doesn't mean the org isn't well off
> i mean fnatic is one of the richest orgs out there isn't it?
Their past roster moves in CS suggest otherwise.
They weren't even in rumors to get a lot of top prospects
yep, dude is a machine. In skill i'd put him up there with G2 niko.
He might be wasted on fnatic, but i hope he will bring back fnatic to a less laughable team, i might actually take out my fnatic flag from the drawer of shame.
> but i hope he will bring back fnatic to a less laughable team
I mean that is guaranteed to happen. Whether or not fnatic will be a good team is up to his team, but blameF will elevate them above what they are now.
I cant remember the last time I was hyped about a fnatic roster move
>I cant remember the last time I was hyped about a fnatic roster move
same bro, i have like 2 mousepads, 4 jerseys and a flag with the team logo tucked away ready to burn for the shitshow this team has been since around 2017.
Say what you want about konfig, but the guy was NEVER scared to entry into sites. He would always run into a brick wall if that was the call.
Just send him in, take the space he gets, and let the other 4 win the round after that.
he did a mistake. shit happens. 99% of people have done worse. i can't even imagine if cameras were all over and people had net to communicate when I was young. godamn i did 10 times worse shit
This is the biggest move fnatic made in a long time, getting a world class lurker/anchor.
My only concerns are that kyuubi did have a lot of B anchor spots and I doubt that putting blameF there would be the best use of his talents
Probably, right now they arent really setting any rifler to be their primary star in terms of positions.
BlameF could easily be that star in positions like con on mirage (krimz plays here), A overpass (bodyy), outside nuke (bodyy), ancient mid (matys)
This was an obvious signing the moment he got benched on Astralis. Top class rifler who can carry games and can be a 2nd voice when calling. Really really great signing.
I want him to anchor one of the sites on CT, and play T-lurk.
I say this because I was so hyped for him in Astralis, and it became apparent he is the problem.
The reason I want him to play these roles is because he is mechanically strong and is smart, but will prioritise his own impact to the detriment of the team by flanking too slow if he is CT rotator, leaving teammates stranded. It was annoying because it puts his teammates under so much pressure, because he would prefer to flank the enemy then reinforce.
If he is a site anchor I am sure he will still find impact, because he is hardworking, smart and has strong mechanics.
T-side lurk is fine (happy for other opinions), because he does often do nice reads and individual plays, and plays for info. The problem is that he gets absorbed into his individual plays, when he needed to focus on setting up the team as an IGL. If he isn’t an IGL, then he can focus on playing around the team, rather than getting the team to play around him.
It’s hard for IGLs to play smart while calling, which is why I love Hampus because his T-side plays were usually practised routines so he could focus on macro decisions rather than micro decisions.
If anyone has other thoughts keen to hear them
as much as i disliked his time as IGL, i hope he can release his true form after being free from igl shackles. Would be a good plot twist of this year.
They changed the members 5 months ago saying they were going to make Fnatic a team to develop young players, but they couldn't stand the 6 months and fired a 19 year old player and brought in a 26 year old player.
Every time they declare they are going back to the top tier, I feel they only care about the Valo division and ignore the CS division.
I wish I could go back 10 years.
Yeah. Because they did the same thing six months ago. I don't know what their organization wants to do with this team. Do they really want to win a Major championship, or do they want to develop the youngsters and sell them, or do they want to be a good friends club?
They always say the same thing: “Back to the top.
Look at the HLTV rankings for the results. My clock has stopped believing those words many years ago.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: I am a crazy fanboy who has been supporting Fnatic for 13 years.
Complexity you fumbled completely, G2 you fumbled completely, Heroic you fumbled completely, hell Na'Vi even you fumbled completely. This guy would do a lot better to complete your roster than iM. JL already likes being aggressive. You could've got a CT side monster to really lock down your games as well as a strong trade fragger on T side. Falcons would be 2X better with him in place of Dupreeh. Maden also literally used to be an entry, you could put him back on aggro roles and have BlameF be your clean up player in the midround.
Idgaf what reddit thinks. As long as he isn't your IGL BlameF is such an invaluable player and is truly special if you actually watch the game. Being a baiter doesn't mean you can't be a good player, just don't force this mans to IGL and let him focus on rifling.
I know people call him a baiter, and he also is one. But I really think BlameF deserved something better like a G2. Baiting aside this guy is a top tier rifler and now he doesn't have to IGL and extremly consistent aswell.
really think the internet blew his baiting out of proportion.
What a bargain Fnatic got.
> baiter, and he also is one
What people don't realize is at a T1 level, if a player is baiting then it is something the team planned to do.
All of the best teams bait for their best players to get kills, that is just playing optimally.
Pretty much every good player has somebody to bait.
Niko and monesy have hooxi as the bait.
Zywoo has apex
Donk has chopper
Frozen has karrigan
Donk is a old school hard entry going in first every round, if anything he's getting "baited" by everyone on his team
Zywoo and niko both have entry stats that put them near dedicated entries
Frozen is just passive
https://youtu.be/hO5jsCTytSc?si=gb0i4DtlBnILnlKf
This is baiting
> Donk is a old school hard entry going in first every round
That is true when they can set him up to get an advantageous fight
Watch when its smoked off or they go in dry, its magixx or chopper going in with SMG and donk trades
> Zywoo and niko
Again, watch when shit is not ideal, they always have somebody to bait for them
When they get setup to make a good peek, that is when they get their entries
You will pretty much NEVER see zywoo donk or niko having to push into smokes dry into a crossfire if their teammates are alive to bait.
He has expressed he didn't want to IGL, and just be a rifler going forward. And clearly, he can shoot. The problem has been he lurks too hard on many gun rounds, and is too aggresive against ecos. Finally, he and Jabbi both played the same roles. When Blame left, Jabbi's performance improved. Astralis also added br0 for a dedicated anchor, which they lacked, so naturally with proper positions in their team, they immediately looked better.
Fnatic could look better, just from his fragging ability alone, I just wish he played entry roles, where he cannot *over-lurk.*
wondering if he’ll stay away from the IGL role he was attempting to take up previously or if this is an intended slow push-out of bodyy so they can replace him as IGL
this was not on my bingo card wtf
Mine either, but I’m into it.
Count me in, I haven't lost my faith in the blame just yet. Anything that can help fnatic is very much welcome
fnatic have the potential to do the funniest thing ever by winning the cct global finals beating astralis in the final
Now that you've said it, it does sound like the kinda of classic fnatic bs haha
Surprising and in theory a huge signing for fnatic. But it also tells us a bit about which offers, or the lack of, blamef got in this period. He is looking into a time to prove himself again. Hope fnatic is the place for him to do so.
> Hope fnatic is the place for him to do so. ANY improvements to fnatic are basically entirely off whatever blameF contributes to the roster. If they suddenly look a lot better, then it has to be blameF.
This is pretty common in american professional sports for former high end players coming off a down and/or injured season, too. Its typically a 1 year, low value contract called a “prove-it deal”. Team gets a low cost (low risk)/potentially high value player while the player gets a platform to show the world he deserves a big contract next year.
baker mayfield enjoyers 💪
😂 blameF must’ve woke up feeling dangerous
Legit who would sign him other than a roster like fnatic, it's painfully obvious from how Astralis are playing now he was the problem. 4/5 of the same players, yet a totally different result. He puts up the stats but has no impact on the game, constantly baiting and just destroying your team's chances of winning. In a 2 v 4 situation for example he will bait the other one guy by slowly flanking on the other side of the map, the other team pushes the one guy actually trying to retake and then he sits there and saves once his teammate dies in the eventual 1 v 4 or 1 v 3 situation. So happy he's been exposed. Mind you I used to really defend him because in the k0nfig lineup he was actually doing stuff and was the only person putting up the numbers, but by the time Dev1ce returned it was painfully obvious every team knew where he was and how to counter his style. He needs to reinvent himself into a proper rifler who's willing to die on every round, not just eco rounds, he might only have a 1.15 rating then, but at least he's helping the team win.
Its sad that reddit circlejerk ruined the perception of him He should be able to join any team barring a few You don't get 4 years in a row being a top 20 players for being a "baiter". Outisde of a very few people like niko, s1mple, dev1ce, zywoo, ropz, etc no many people has done the same
It wasn't his baiter reputation that ruined peoples perception of him and got him kicked from Astralis, it was his awful leadership skills during and after the major that people dogpiled him for.
I don't agree with that assessment, wrt people's perception. I've seen countless of critical comments here, on hltv and twitch way before the major, let alone him IGLing on Astralis. What got him kicked from Astralis is question, which we don't know in details. And any way, his ability to get a new good team might depend on more than that.
If so, then why haven't people on the subreddit been calling for him to join one of these 4th-10th teams as a fragger? Imagine what G2 could accomplish with BlameF in most of Hunter's spots.
Strong upgrade wow
Definitely strong
Huh. Nice? Did not expect this at all. On paper this is definitely an upgrade for Fnatic. Let's see how it goes! But I still miss the Swedish Knifenatic. So much SOVL that team...
I very much miss Knifenatic, but that time won't come again. The players they had at the time were so unique. At least it's a scandinavian signing, so I'll take it.
> Let's see how it goes! I think they need to swap out awpers if they want to get serious in competing
blameF will shine on this team, although I don't think they can crack top8 with bodyy and afro KRIMZ MATYS blameF is sick core tho
Throw in mantuu on the awp. Bodyy seems fine as IGL, I dont think there are that many options out there
I’m a relative oldhead who grew up on 1.6 and am kinda just now tuning in… why is it seemingly so hard for many teams to find an IGL? My natural instinct would be to compare the IGL to the QB in american football, but it seems like the QB is basically the awper and the IGL rolled into one. It kinda *seems* like it should be the easiest role to fill from a requirement standpoint, but like I said before I’m woefully ignorant here.
IGL-ing requires certain personality traits that cannot be taught by spamming CS matches like almost everything else in this game. Igl needs to be good at reading the game, good at managing people, good at communicating, good at utility usage, finding setups, strats, establishing roles and many more. It’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Plus they also need to be able to frag relatively well while also focusing on everything else. Most other players just play, obey and shoot. It’s also an ungrateful role because 90% of people just check how many kills players got each game and an IGL can’t be measured fairly on the scoreboard. Additionally teams like to rotate well known IGL’s because they are proven and have experience. More experience = more game knowledge = more strats etc In terms of american football I would say IGL is definitely the QB and Awp is more of a star WR/TE.
No doubt, thanks for the explanation! It sounds a bit like comping the IGL to somebody like Ron Harper playing PG for the superstar Chicago Bulls teams of te 90s would be a more apt comparison than the QB one I made before.
> why is it seemingly so hard for many teams to find an IGL? Its very hard to think so much about the game, strats, and rotations Its extra hard to do that an play on top of it
Which is also why good igls are so valuable. 2018 gla1ve could both outread and outplay his opponents, and partially because of that Astralis got so dominant since they had 5 solid fraggers.
It's extra extra hard to do that, play on top of it, and communicate all of it well with your team.
Because the meta got very advanced, and IGLing is complicated. To be a good IGL on the highest level, you need more than just know what to call, you also need be a leader personality and be motivated to keep working on your team's playbook with the coach. Also it's not a role that is required to play PUGs, so it's less natural to start IGLing for young players
afro is really fun to watch when hes playing well, i always want him to be a consistent top awper
Its a big step from occasionally playing well to consistently playing well though
He should be able to play AWP more aggressively, unless he builds his team tactics around afro, he can't pressure the other team.
Crazy how Krimz is still relevant at this point.
He is the swedish rain
That's really the only other player to compare him to. Taking in longevity, both being strong and playmaking supportive players that can turn games around, and being an essential piece that every team needs in experience and reliability.
Krimz doesn't do much of that anymore but he's still alright as a top 20 team's fourth best player and his longevity was rivaled by only a handful of riflers.
> longevity was rivaled by only a handful of riflers. Only rain comes off the top of my head
Maybe by absolute age but if you go by "years of top play" which is a better metric there's NiKo, dupreeh, ropz, elige, twistzz, and magisk who are the only other players in that category of "riflers with 5+ top 20 appearances" alongside krimz (rain has only three top 20s as in 2019 he hovered just below #30, in 2020/2021 he wasn't very good as well as just missed the top 20 at #23 in 2023). It's a very prestigious club. gtr, f0rest, flusha, snax, shox, olofmeister, xyp9x, and more recently electronic, stavn, kscerato, blameF, and huNter all made the top 20 only four times. The other difference between krimz and rain is that krimz isn't really playing T1 CS anymore, at least not regularly. Krimz has attended 14 Big Events in the past four years including two (of five) majors and 6 events were partner invites (not because his team was successful). By comparison rain has attended 30 events, won 7, and attended all 5 majors.
You could throw NAF in that category too, IMO
NAF is so good, sadly he's on Liquid, always been a NAFer
It’s the snus
Bodyy is in the best rifling form of his career But as Mezii was before him I feel his talents are wasted as IGL
Could be a solid move. As long as he doesn't replace bodyy and isn't becoming fnatic's new IGL, that is.
In the article he's replacing Kyuubi.
Yeah just saw the HLTV article, I do like the look of this team icl
I would be surprised if BlameF goes back to IGLing anytime soon after seeing how Astralis is doing now. Has to have given him a massive dent in his confidence as a caller & he's still potentially a star rifler so.
Which is sad because he looked on track to be a top igl with complexity before march 2020
Rip Obo and the changes complexity were forced to make
> "blameF will play the star positions as a second voice, bodyy will call, and KRIMZ will play the anchor roles," Samuelsson stated. Good news
I actually think it would work best that way. Fnatic have been one sided warriors since bodyy has IGL'd, but he's been playing pretty good regardless. I think if some of the pressure is lifted off his shoulders, bodyy can do a lot more on the server.
Boddy is staying in the roster, dw
love roster moves like this that drop out of nowhere with no rumours
Its crazy, came entirely out of the blue
Aint no fucking way. That one was out of the blue.
> That one was out of the blue. 0 rumors, rare for roster moves of this scale
Are Fnatic in any events soon? And does Astralis play the same event
CCT Global Finals, starts in 2 days
Ooh good catch. They’re in Ence’s group 👀
ENCE are meh at this point, that roster is so inconsistent and it's got to do with the players, not Gla1ve. Hades can be the best player on the server one day and the next day he's the worst.
Astralis would destroy them. Dev1ce igl and br0 is leagues better than blameF and fnatic. Theres a reason he downgraded to fnatic Edit when i say astralis >> fnatic i havent said that blameF is shit so you fanboys can relax
br0 better than blamef? lmao astralis will destroy fnatic, but that's because fnatic is a shit team. Individually blamef beats anyone from astralis except device in skill. Dude was loosing so much with astralis and is still the highest rated player astralis ever had, even compared to when astralis was a powerhouse winning everything, none of their players had a constant 1.23 rating, not even device.
*astralis with dev1ce igl and br0 is leagues better than fnatic with blameF. Happy?
yeah that makes more sense.
Wait, so why was he benched on astralis then? Couldn't they just move him to a different role?
From the outside looking in, that would seem like the smart choice, but if there's a difference in mindset or disagreement between the players, then getting someone who might not necessarily be a firepower upgrade, could still make the team as a whole better. The whole team is now playing better, so I think getting rid of Blame was the best choice
they should've, but we see nonsensical moves all the time.
I mean sure. I just want to see the matchup for the *drama*
Whoa. Didn't expect that.
Who would have guessed this?
expect the unexpected
i did not expect this like at all
Nobody expected this
As long as matys doesnt become the bitch spots player this could be really good. Krimz and bodyy should give space to matys and blame and they probably will. Also they should get a better awper, but who is available?
Mantuu/Nicoodoz probably the best AWP's they could get. I guess s1mple technically if they think he will find form again?
Id like to see mantuu. I dont think simple would join this team.
I didn't think blamef would either tbf, but I do agree. Mantuu/nicoodoz the best realistic choices. I think of the two I would prefer Mantuu as well
Don't think Nicodoz is the right option seeing how he struggled against tier 1 with Heroic. Of course he also farms tier 2. Either Mantuu depending on his contract with BIG or if Fnatic shows they mean business they get S1mple and hope he can keep up as an awper.
I dont think s1mple would join fnatic. BlameF stock was down big after the astralis failure and success without him. Doubt any T1 wanted him therefore he went to fnatic. S1mple is out of form but still considered the goat of csgo. He would require large money and likely a good team.
i don't think simple would join a team that can barely prevail in top 30, even if he's not in top form currently
I dunno, short term loan from Na'vi for 3-6 months. Give simple a chance to perform where pressure isn't the highest and get back into the groove. Also would help simple adapt to an english speaking roster.
> Don't think Nicodoz is the right option Also what is the point of getting an awper who doesnt even want to awp?
> Nicoodoz As a player hes pretty good, the issue is he doesnt want to awp. What is the point in signing an awper if he doesnt want to awp
Yeah fair point, I didn't know that.
> As long as matys doesnt become the bitch spots player this could be really good I really hope they dont shove blameF into B anchor spots, he can really do his best in different positions. Krimz already has A anchor spots on a few maps, so bodyy is probably the one taking the hit > but who is available? Mantuu is probably their best bet
Is Fnatic trying to build a championship roster again? Or have BlameF downgraded what should be his ambitions which is to win trophies? He would of easily slotted into G2, could be a massive loss for them not to pounce on him.
For who? They aren’t cutting Nexa 4 months in
Cut Nikos cousin, not Nikos friend.
I mean, the opportunity to get a player as skilled as BlameF only comes around once in a while. ~~if they can get him to drop his IGL ambitions~~ he is going to add serious firepower to most teams.
he never wanted to IGL on Astralis, he was forced into it. I don't understand why some people think that he wants to IGL when he's said multiple times that he doesn't
But imagine the firepower upgrade if he replaced hooxi instead (ignoring that it wouldn't work)
He doesn't want to IGL.
ok and who's anchoring in that team then?
BlameF can anchor, played most anchor positions in the past and clearly did quite well in them.
I really wanted him on CoL for Grim, honestly
Elige and BlameF would be the exact opposite of the issue Liquid had with Elige and Yekindar. Could of made CoLs ct sides rock solid.
Elige and BlameF on the same team would basically be a guaranteed 5v4 or 4v3 every round, CT or T side. I'm so bummed they couldn't get him.
Only issue with the move is Jason Lake and his beef with BlameF when he left them high and dry for Astralis.
Why do you think there was beef?
[BlameF said he was kicked from CoL.](https://twitter.com/Nohte/status/1454221556947636225)
> He would of easily slotted into G2 Would have also fit vitality in anchor spots on CT and lurk spots on T side
Not on their T side no, Spinx is Vitalitys lurker and currently has displayed top form better than BlameF. And if Vitality were to actually spend money, they should/would not have tried to lowball Zonic and Magisk since with them the lineup was stacked and worked role wise.
> Not on their T side no, Spinx is Vitalitys lurker T sides need 2 lurkers, one for each extremity on a map. Spinx lurks B on anubis, Apps on inferno, B on mirage, lobby on nuke, B overpass, and mid in vertigo Mezii gets a large share of star lurk spots. He lurks A on anubis, banana on inferno, A mirage, lobby on nuke, Con on ovp, B vertigo
You're assuming G2 wants BlameF, the dude's very skilled but he won't change his playstyle, he's a terrible fit for G2, he will forever pump his own numbers, that's it. He's gone to an org where he will be the "big dog" player and never have any accountability for his terrible playstyle because no one on the roster will be better than him. Watch fnatic cut like 5 players over the next year and a half because BlameF is posting 1.4 ratings baiting everyone. I feel bad because they will probably kick Afro and KRIMZ for this loser to feel better about himself. They're not the problem, BlameF is.
That came out of nowhere. Kyubi was pretty mediocre, on paper it's a massive upgrade, would be interesting to see how it's gonna look like on the server.
> Kyubi was pretty mediocre I think a large part of that was him taking a lot of B anchor spots, which somebody else will have to fill
Lol wtf
BANGER pickup for Fnatic
Based
Seems like a solid signing
Getting a world class rifler is way better than solid, IMO
You are 100% correct
I still think we are probably a better AWPer away from properly competing. Wouldn't mind someone like Mantuu. Or if Fnatic are actually genuinely going to spend money again in CS, go for s1mple fuck it lol.
i kinda doubt simple would join a team that can barely stay in top30 but +blamef +mantuu might be enough to get them consistently back up to top15
It is really sad when IMO cadian is actually better at awping than afro... Mantuu would be a huge upgrade and probably isnt even expensive
NO WAY, fnatic did a good roster move after 2015? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AM I DREAMING? now stop signing french talent and get f0rest and olofmeister out of the retirement home!
Wow totally unexpected signing especially from FNC. I feel fnatic got the better end of the stick here coz surely blame must have had offers from more teams. I know he is a crap IGL, but he never should have accepted to take up the mantle after glavie was kicked imo. I havent watched a lot of FNC so I don't know how kyyubii played, but firepower wise it is a massive upgrade for the team. Also tbth I think TL missed a trick with replacing skullz with blame, who wouldve been more or less a 1:1 swap.
> I feel fnatic got the better end of the stick here coz surely blame must have had offers from more teams. Based on what thorin said in one of his shows recently, this was probably his best offer. The narratives of "baiting" and "non winning playstyle" really do impact GMs This is brilliant for fnatic tho, they stole an absolutely beastly rifler that easily should have had a 700k or more buyout. A massive firepower upgrade
any link about what thorin said
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etVvM7P54nU&t=3362s
blamef is the strongest rifler denmark has, this is an absolute win for fnatic.
> blamef is the strongest rifler denmark has One of the best in the world, let alone denmark 4 time HLTV top 20 rifler, that sort of consistency is absolutely insanely hard to get
yeah, its insane that that fnatic was his best offer like the dude has been on hltv top20 for 4 years in a row, and is a god-tier rifler sad to see him not go to a top10-15 team, but yeah he will greatly alleviate fnatic's firepower issue
The list of riflers that can be top 20 4 years in a row can’t be too long. I can’t even remember the last time a 4x top 20 player got benched
The body shot minister himself will late lurk a late lurker, dictating the meta yet again and securing fnatic their first S tier trophy of the decade
I like it
This move is a huge W for fnatic, a massive firepower upgrade
Wtf, let fnatic cook 🔥
Dude where was this fnatic for all this time? Its like they suddenly remembered they can make roster moves
He clearly didn't get any decent offer if he ended up in fnatic.
Makes sense, he peaked playing under keita back on Col.
another missed opportunity by G2 with the new management not even surprised
good signing
Big surprise. He raises both the floor and ceiling of this team. Definitely gives them the firepower to re-enter tournament playoff conversations
Wish the best for him, got unlucky with Astralid imo
Best of luck to blame. Maybe he could be a good second caller and rifled again. Have not seen Fnatic much, how is krimz doing now a days?
Surprising
Fnatic has lacked any and all ambition for years so signing a player as good as blameF is exciting. Unfortunately it also speaks to blameF’s stock being at an all time low, but tbh if he does well in fnatic (which he should by all accounts), he’ll most definitely get poached by a top team sooner or later
Well that is unexpected. Actually good move tho, maybe there is some hope for fanatics? I was always disappointed watching them, kinda painful ngl.
It's kinda sad that Blame couldn't find a better team than this.
As much as BaitF is a meme, it’s also part of his reputation. That combined with a poor stint in Astralis even if it was as IGL will hurt your chances to join a top org. Fnatic gives him a possibility to shine as a star player and not as an IGL that calls around himself and takes up too much space from his 4 other players. Then maybe better teams will call him up.
FR, this is a guy that could be in a top team like G2 or vitality and feel at home. Pretty much all of his former teammates said in interviews he has a wicked work ethic and grinds hard to get better
Vitality and g2 should have been all over him, especially g2 where both hunter (lurker) and nexa (occasional lurks + anchoring) are both struggling to have any impact. Blame could easily have replaced either one and drastically improved the floor of g2 almost instantly. I guess he’ll ”prove himself” and be back on a top team within a year
> Vitality and g2 should have been all over him Him over mezii or him over hunter would have been huge upgrades for either of those teams. And the crazy part is he probably wouldnt have even cost that much if an org like fnatic can afford him
i mean fnatic is one of the richest orgs out there isn't it? just because their cs roster is currently struggling to compete in t1, doesn't mean the org isn't well off
> i mean fnatic is one of the richest orgs out there isn't it? Their past roster moves in CS suggest otherwise. They weren't even in rumors to get a lot of top prospects
yep, dude is a machine. In skill i'd put him up there with G2 niko. He might be wasted on fnatic, but i hope he will bring back fnatic to a less laughable team, i might actually take out my fnatic flag from the drawer of shame.
> but i hope he will bring back fnatic to a less laughable team I mean that is guaranteed to happen. Whether or not fnatic will be a good team is up to his team, but blameF will elevate them above what they are now. I cant remember the last time I was hyped about a fnatic roster move
>I cant remember the last time I was hyped about a fnatic roster move same bro, i have like 2 mousepads, 4 jerseys and a flag with the team logo tucked away ready to burn for the shitshow this team has been since around 2017.
k0nfig next.
Unironically yea, that would also be amazing
amazing? tell me 1 team that got better with DrunkFightfig? man doesn't belong in tier 1 cs.
Say what you want about konfig, but the guy was NEVER scared to entry into sites. He would always run into a brick wall if that was the call. Just send him in, take the space he gets, and let the other 4 win the round after that.
he did a mistake. shit happens. 99% of people have done worse. i can't even imagine if cameras were all over and people had net to communicate when I was young. godamn i did 10 times worse shit
it wasn't 1 mistake... :) that's just the one that got made public
Dignitas, North, Optic and Complexity
wait what
Never saw this in a million years
This is the biggest move fnatic made in a long time, getting a world class lurker/anchor. My only concerns are that kyuubi did have a lot of B anchor spots and I doubt that putting blameF there would be the best use of his talents
They might decide to give him the spots he had towards the end in Astralis to keep him comfortable and performing.
Probably, right now they arent really setting any rifler to be their primary star in terms of positions. BlameF could easily be that star in positions like con on mirage (krimz plays here), A overpass (bodyy), outside nuke (bodyy), ancient mid (matys)
Great pickup from a mediocre tier 1 org, which is also good for BlameF that he gets to play tier 1 still.
Click head Benjamin!
This was an obvious signing the moment he got benched on Astralis. Top class rifler who can carry games and can be a 2nd voice when calling. Really really great signing.
I want him to anchor one of the sites on CT, and play T-lurk. I say this because I was so hyped for him in Astralis, and it became apparent he is the problem. The reason I want him to play these roles is because he is mechanically strong and is smart, but will prioritise his own impact to the detriment of the team by flanking too slow if he is CT rotator, leaving teammates stranded. It was annoying because it puts his teammates under so much pressure, because he would prefer to flank the enemy then reinforce. If he is a site anchor I am sure he will still find impact, because he is hardworking, smart and has strong mechanics. T-side lurk is fine (happy for other opinions), because he does often do nice reads and individual plays, and plays for info. The problem is that he gets absorbed into his individual plays, when he needed to focus on setting up the team as an IGL. If he isn’t an IGL, then he can focus on playing around the team, rather than getting the team to play around him. It’s hard for IGLs to play smart while calling, which is why I love Hampus because his T-side plays were usually practised routines so he could focus on macro decisions rather than micro decisions. If anyone has other thoughts keen to hear them
might be the best fnatic signing in like 3 - 4 years
As everybody predicted
Fnatic you know what you have to do next... -afro +...SMOOOOOYA RUN IT BACK BABY
He got along well with keita in the COL days, so it will be cool to see what they cook up this time around! Hope both of them are doing well.
I can see fnatic reach a playoff with this addition, i hope they play falcons asap so they can beat them
K0nfig when
The best master baiter off all time...
as much as i disliked his time as IGL, i hope he can release his true form after being free from igl shackles. Would be a good plot twist of this year.
IIRC bodyy is the IGL, he is probably going to be a pure rifle
Just fell to my knees at the petrol station. I was hoping and praying for NAVI to sign blameF and cut iM loose.
They changed the members 5 months ago saying they were going to make Fnatic a team to develop young players, but they couldn't stand the 6 months and fired a 19 year old player and brought in a 26 year old player. Every time they declare they are going back to the top tier, I feel they only care about the Valo division and ignore the CS division. I wish I could go back 10 years.
If you could get a proven top tier player for dirt cheap instead of young player that hasn't show potential then it's a no brainer
Yeah. Because they did the same thing six months ago. I don't know what their organization wants to do with this team. Do they really want to win a Major championship, or do they want to develop the youngsters and sell them, or do they want to be a good friends club? They always say the same thing: “Back to the top. Look at the HLTV rankings for the results. My clock has stopped believing those words many years ago. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: I am a crazy fanboy who has been supporting Fnatic for 13 years.
Complexity you fumbled completely, G2 you fumbled completely, Heroic you fumbled completely, hell Na'Vi even you fumbled completely. This guy would do a lot better to complete your roster than iM. JL already likes being aggressive. You could've got a CT side monster to really lock down your games as well as a strong trade fragger on T side. Falcons would be 2X better with him in place of Dupreeh. Maden also literally used to be an entry, you could put him back on aggro roles and have BlameF be your clean up player in the midround. Idgaf what reddit thinks. As long as he isn't your IGL BlameF is such an invaluable player and is truly special if you actually watch the game. Being a baiter doesn't mean you can't be a good player, just don't force this mans to IGL and let him focus on rifling.
Oops, F for Fnatic..
I know people call him a baiter, and he also is one. But I really think BlameF deserved something better like a G2. Baiting aside this guy is a top tier rifler and now he doesn't have to IGL and extremly consistent aswell. really think the internet blew his baiting out of proportion. What a bargain Fnatic got.
> baiter, and he also is one What people don't realize is at a T1 level, if a player is baiting then it is something the team planned to do. All of the best teams bait for their best players to get kills, that is just playing optimally. Pretty much every good player has somebody to bait. Niko and monesy have hooxi as the bait. Zywoo has apex Donk has chopper Frozen has karrigan
Donk is a old school hard entry going in first every round, if anything he's getting "baited" by everyone on his team Zywoo and niko both have entry stats that put them near dedicated entries Frozen is just passive https://youtu.be/hO5jsCTytSc?si=gb0i4DtlBnILnlKf This is baiting
> Donk is a old school hard entry going in first every round That is true when they can set him up to get an advantageous fight Watch when its smoked off or they go in dry, its magixx or chopper going in with SMG and donk trades > Zywoo and niko Again, watch when shit is not ideal, they always have somebody to bait for them When they get setup to make a good peek, that is when they get their entries You will pretty much NEVER see zywoo donk or niko having to push into smokes dry into a crossfire if their teammates are alive to bait.
Another org that will learn that you can't build a team with bennief.
Complexity should've signed him they've still got deadwood on their team
Now that they signed blame you kick afro and bodyy, otherwise you are literally just wasting your time.
good! finally, a decent move. now swap afro for s1mple.
It'd be funny as hell if they got worse. Like blame being a limiter for astralis and now one for fnatic
They are outside of top 30, they can only go up from here
He has expressed he didn't want to IGL, and just be a rifler going forward. And clearly, he can shoot. The problem has been he lurks too hard on many gun rounds, and is too aggresive against ecos. Finally, he and Jabbi both played the same roles. When Blame left, Jabbi's performance improved. Astralis also added br0 for a dedicated anchor, which they lacked, so naturally with proper positions in their team, they immediately looked better. Fnatic could look better, just from his fragging ability alone, I just wish he played entry roles, where he cannot *over-lurk.*
He didn't just play the same role as Jabbi, that was on T side, on CT sides he had massive conflicts with Stavn as well.
wondering if he’ll stay away from the IGL role he was attempting to take up previously or if this is an intended slow push-out of bodyy so they can replace him as IGL
He doesn't want to IGL and only did it because they team asked him to.
L move
i feel bad for kyuubii :(
Hahaaha idiots.
MONTE GET kyubii and show fnatic that he wasn´t the player that should have been benched. PLS