FaZe Clan has announced it has benched Jonathan ‘EliGE‘ Jablonowski from its Counter-Strike 2 roster after eight months on the starting lineup.
In place of the American player, the North American esports organisation has signed Jakub ‘jcobbb‘ Pietruszewski from Betclic Apogee.
EliGE being moved to the bench is the third roster switch FaZe Clan has made this year. In May, AWPer Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants was also benched to make way for the surprise arrival of Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev, who played for the team at IEM Dallas and the BLAST.tv Austin Major, helping the team secure a top-eight finish.
Following s1mple’s departure to BC.GAME, broky returned to the starting lineup in July with the aim of building momentum during the second half of the season. A top-eight at IEM Cologne was followed by elimination to Virtus.pro at BLAST Bounty Season 2 during the online phase of the competition.
“We have mutually come to the decision for EliGE to be moved to the bench and out of our active lineup,” announced FaZe Clan on social media.
“End of a chapter now, and will be starting a new one coming soon,” added EliGE
The news follows another disappointing showing for the team at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A 2-1 defeat to Aurora Gaming scored another early elimination from a Tier 1 event, earning a top-16 placement.
Jcobbb joins FaZe Clan after a ten-month stint with Betclic Apogee, competing in several online and offline Tier 2 competitions. In July, the French organisation scored a top-eight placement at Fragadelphia 19.
What Next For FaZe Clan CS2?
After elimination from the Esports World Cup, FaZe Clan is set to compete in the closed qualifiers for BLAST Open London, beginning on August 27th, where jcobbb will make his Tier 1 debut.
Shortly after BLAST Open London, FaZe Clan will be among the teams invited to participate in FISSURE Playground 2 in Serbia, as the battle for Valve Regional Standings (VRS) points begins to heat up.
While jcobbb lacks experience competing against the top teams in the world, he has impressed on the big stage at PGL Bucharest, scoring shock victories over The MongolZ and Astralis to score a top-ten finish.
