In the midst of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s player break, Fnatic have reloaded their roster with two former Cloud9 Colossus members. William “Mezii” Merriman and Alex “ALEX” McMeekin will join Fnatic’s CS:GO roster and become a part of the team’s move towards a more international roster. ALEX joins as the team’s new in-game leader and Mezii joins as the support and lurker.
The start of something new.
Welcome, @kingmezii & @CSGOALEX to the Black and Orange. pic.twitter.com/SYpU8YNAGV
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) August 3, 2021
The traditionally Swedish roster is moving in a new direction according to the team’s Chief Gaming Officer, Patrik “cArn” Sättermon. In a statement from July 28, cArn said the organization would move the CS:GO team into a more international roster. ALEX and Mezii are the first British players to compete under the Fnatic banner in CS:GO, as the vast majority of the teams former players are Swedish.
“We have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the Swedish CS:GO scene, however, we felt an international lineup would provide us with many more options and greater flexibility for the future,” Fnatic said in its roster announcement.
As we reach a crossroads of change for Fnatic CS:GO, @cArn sat down to discuss moving to an international roster, Fnatic Rising, and what’s coming for the future. pic.twitter.com/JMkyBwucaR
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) July 28, 2021
Fnatic have been retooling their roster in 2021. The organization benched two of their veteran players this year; Jesper “JW” Wecksell in July and Robin “flusha” Rönnquist in Jan. Additionally, the team benched former Fnatic Rising and Cloud9 player Maikil “Golden” Kunda Selim in July.
According to the organization’s announcement, the team wanted to find an experienced IGL and and up-and-coming rifler. They scouted over 100 players to find the correct fit before settling on ALEX, former Team Vitality IGL, and Mizii, a relatively new CS:GO pro.
This new Fnatic roster will debut at Electronic Sports League Season 14. The team’s group starts competition on Aug. 27 and includes Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, Berlin International Gaming, mouseports and Evil Geniuses.
Fnatic’s current lineup after the player break is now as such:
- Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson
- Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin
- Jack “Jackinho” Ström Mattsson
- Alex “ALEX” McMeekin
- William “mezii” Merriman
