After winning both Stage 1 and 2 of the Canadian Division during the 2020 season, Mirage has remade its roster ahead of the upcoming North American League (NAL) season which kicks off next month.
In doing this, the organisation has opted to replace the players of Silent, Zilchy, and Flynn with Dream, Nyx, Benjimoola and Hotancold, while Flynn remains on the team in a managerial position as the "Team Principal".
While Mirage initially started out as the Canadian Division's star team with two stage wins and a win over Tempo Storm during the NAL Qualifier, it ended the year overtaken by the Altiora roster that won both the 2020 Canadian title and the region's Six Invitational qualifier spot.
With Ubisoft announcing that the US and CA Divisions would be merging for 2021, though, this led to Mirage making a number of drastic changes to the team.
One of the new incoming players is Mitch "Dream" Malson, who Mirage beat earlier in the year while he was on Tempo Storm. While on this team, Dream finished Season 11 in fifth, followed by Stages 1 and 2 in sixth and eighth, putting Tempo in the relegation zone before the organisation left R6 Esports and left the roster without representation.
Also joining is Zachary "Nyx" Thomas, who competed on DarkZero, Team Reciprocity, and Disrupt Gaming prior, giving him considerable experience including runners-up finishes at both the Season 10 Finals and the 2019 US Nationals. Most recently, in December, he joined LiViD Gaming, only to now leave before even playing a game under the organisation.
Nyx at the 2019 US Nationals.
The third incoming player is the least experienced member of Benjamin "Benjimoola" Ligacki, who previously played in the Challenger League for the teams of Shook Squad, RentFree, and Joe Esports and finished the most recent CCS Season in third on Team Oblation. Now, he joins the pro-circuit for the first time with Mirage.
The final addition to the team is the ex-DarkZero player of Matthew "Hotancold" Stevens, who comes in as by far the most experienced player on this new roster.
Hotancold previously played on the same team for four and a half years, during which time he attended three Pro League Finals, the 2020 Six Invitational, and the Raleigh Major peaking with a second-place finish during Season 10 alongside Nyx.
Finally, remaining on the team from the 2020 season are Chase "NotLoading" Neely and Alexandre "Quartz" Moranta who, as well as being the statistically best players on the team last season, provide the team with its primary entry player and in-game-leader.
Mirage's tease for the pickups showing in order, Quartz, NotLoading, Dream, Nyx, and Benjimoola.
These five players will now work alongside Mirage's support staff of Cristian "Guerra" Guerra (previously known as eCentral) and David "DnA" Thomas, the latter of whom is the father of Nyx. Finishing off the R6 team is Rob "Flynn" Flynn, who moves from a player role to the Team Manager.
Flynn at the Raleigh Major.
With Altiora announcing their exit from R6 Esports on Friday, this announcement marks the last full team announcement ahead of the NAL kick-off on March 24th. At the moment, just two roster additions in Disrupt Gaming remain, ahead of a complete NAL 2021 lineup of teams.
The Mirage lineup is thus:
Chase "NotLoading" Neely Alexandre "Quartz" Moranta Mitch "Dream" Malson Zachary "Nyx" Thomas Benjamin "Benjimoola" Ligacki Matthew "Hotancold" Stevens Cristian "Guerra" Guerra (Head Coach) David "DnA" Thomas (Analyst)
