CS:GO – smooya Joins Fnatic on Trial

Owen “smooya” Butterfield has joined Fnatic on a three-month trial, with the organization having announced his arrival over the weekend. The AWper recently acted as a stand-in for Fnatic’s CS:GO team at the IEM Winter Europe open qualifier, where the team recorded wins over GamerLegion, K23 and Galaxy Racer.

The British pro was previously contracted to Movistar Riders, however Fnatic are understood to have acquired the 22-year-old without paying any fee. While academy player Iulian “regali” Harjău was under consideration for the vacant position too, it was ultimately smooya that Fnatic chose.

Smooya Joins Fnatic

Speaking on his arrival at Fnatic, smooya stated that:

“I’ve been waiting for a chance like this for years and I think now is the perfect time for this to happen. This is a situation that I never thought I would see myself in because of my past mistakes throughout my career but all I can say is thank you to Samuelsson [Fnatic’s manager] for believing in me so much by putting his own reputation on the line to secure this move. I’m joining with a very open mindset and reasonable expectations for myself and the team, here to work hard every day not only in-game but to develop myself as a person too.”

Why smooya Has Missed Out On Big Moves in the Past

Smooya has been something of a nearly man over the years, having missed out on moves to tier-one teams due to his personality. He made his name at teams including BIG and Chaos Esports Club. However, with Fnatic now having a British core, the org will be hoping that their punt pays off.

The org, despite being based in the UK, has recently moved away from its Swedish-dominated lineup. Over the summer, Alex “ALEX” McMeekin and Willian “mezii” Merriman joined the roster, as part of Fnatic’s significant rebuild.

When Will We See smooya in Fnatic Colors Officially?

With smooya on board on a permanent basis, Fnatic will next compete at the IME Winter Europe closed qualifier, which takes place between October 18-19. At the event, Fnatic will come up against MOUZ, Team Spirit, ENCE, FunPlus Phoenix and Complexity. There are just three spots available for the main event, meaning that Fnatic will need to be at their best.
The Fnatic CS:GO roster is now made up by smooya, ALEX, mezii, Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and Freddy KRIMZ” Johansson. Jamie “keita” Hall remains in charge as strategic coach, with Jack Strom “Jackinho” Mattsson and Maikil “Golden” Selim remaining inactive members of the roster.