When we hear ‘changes to fnatic’, we still think it’s going to be a Swedish shuffle for a few seconds.

In a sense, it’s true - hampus might be coming back to NIP as he said before, but KRIMZ, supposedly, might be out of fnatic. It’s a Swedish shuffle, kind of.

Original rumours suggested KRIMZ and FASHR would be out of fnatic, but OverDrive reckons it’ll be not just those two, but at least one more change. That could be a coach, it could be roeJ, it could be mezii, it could be nicoodoz.

It’s definitely nicoodoz.

The AWPer hasn’t been quite the same player he was on Copenhagen Flames, and we’d be shocked if fnatic weren’t looking at signing a different sniper.

The whole mezii as IGL thing hasn’t gone to plan, really. He’s still lights out in the server, but it hasn’t really improved the team a whole lot. It might be worth just committing to him as a player.

But then, who do you get as IGL? The aforementioned hampus? Aleksib if he leaves? HooXi?

HooXi does know how to get the best out of nicoodoz. Maybe that’s the move. Or maybe they just sign iM and another star and just say screw it.

That seems more in line with fnatic’s style.

The Last Dance? You sure about that?

As much as the Brazilian scene has to thank FalleN for everything he’s done I think we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns.

The rumours of FalleN and fer joining FURIA in place of saffee and drop is definitely one of the wildest ones we’ve heard in 2023. While the pair joining is amazing for the brand, it’s not so amazing for the team’s performance.

FURIA has been on a slippery slope as it is even with a strong roster but this just spells disaster.

You can’t help but think they made no attempt to use their brains if this deal does go through. Who knows. One could argue that’s also how arT calls the game, though, which probably explains a lot.

Now obviously, you can look at all the stats for FalleN and fer and see that they have been performing well BUT that is in tier 2 CS in NA… It’s hardly the environment you’d go to get a 32-year-old talent from yesteryear to improve your team to winning playoff.

Unless it’s PwnAlone.

Anyway, it might just be a rumour (and hopefully is) because lord knows Neymar will be their only supporter.

Snappi, for all his plaudits, is no serial winner. He’s raised many a good team, but has had to see his star players leave for pastures now. He’s lost more than a few finals, too.

It’s just like clockwork. He takes a team far beyond expectations, the star players leave, and he rebuilds again.

Last year it was Spinx, now a Major winner, who left. But Snappi and coach sAw persevered. In came NertZ — ignore the valde stint — and business resumed.

Pro League went well this year, but a stumble at the Major came next with an embarrassing loss to ITB.

They came to IEM Dallas with a point to prove, and they went about doing just that, 2-0ing FaZe and then laughing in the face of a 94-51 K-D from device to beat Astralis too.

In the arena for the semi-finals Faze were the foes once more and they traded map picks, leaving a decider on Ancient.

And boy, what a decider it was. “Map of the year” is an understatement.

ENCE, time after time, survived blow after blow from the closest thing we have in CS to Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid to get themselves onto a 15-14 lead.

But then the great procrastinators of FaZe awoke. karrigan got something special out of his extensive bag of tricks, an elaborate double A fake under the brightest of lights. Just watch it, we promise it’s worth it.

It was just like 2022. FaZe waited and waited but god mode had been activated. broky and then ropz delivered clutches that should have put ENCE’s mentality even further into the bin.

Somehow, though, Snappi’s squad survived. Three overtimes came and went without a victor.

In the fourth overtime, FaZe finally seemed to have done enough. 27-24 up, they needed just one T round. And they couldn’t get it.

Overtime five came next, before ropz and rain turn a 2v4 into a 2v1 in classic FaZe fashion. But SunPayus just. Said. No.

After all of FaZe’s clutches, it was this ENCE one that proved vital. ENCE ran away with it, winning the next two rounds to set up their second IEM Dallas grand final in as many years.

MOUZ were the opponents, the benefactors of Heroic losing to themselves yet again in a big match in their own semi-final. An opponent who, after toppling FaZe, must have felt like small fry to Snappi and company.

At least it looked like that on the server: ENCE convincingly beat MOUZ 16-9 and 16-10, snagging the IEM Dallas trophy and an MVP for SunPayus in the process.

It wasn’t EZ, but ENCE had done it; they have their first big trophy since 2019. Nobody deserves it more.

Final standings:

1st: 🇪🇺 ENCE - $100.000

2nd: 🇪🇺 MOUZ - $42.000

3-4th: 🇪🇺 FaZe - $20.000

3-4th: 🇩🇰 Heroic - $20.000

5-6th: 🇪🇺 G2 Esports - $10.000

5-6th: 🇩🇰 Astralis - $10.000

💩 Sometimes maybe sht*

• We’re confident in saying that karrigan took the semi-final loss a little personal.
• Frozen dropped a 1.25 rating at Dallas, with a rating above 1.0 on 93% of his played maps. Get this man a proper IGL, please.

⏰ The hype is building…

• CS2 inches closer, and someone’s ex got absolutely roasted.
• We don’t know when it’ll come, but worry not: SPUNJ and MACHINE are on the case.

👋 Tough goodbyes

• Is being blocked by Carlos Ocelote really such a bad thing, Ryan?
• Looks like Fessor and Endpoint are no longer working together. You don’t often see mutual consent in esports. That came out wrong.