Following the Susquehanna Soniqs replacing four of their players with an equal number of eUnited players, FaZe Clan has done the same with its own roster and that of MIBR.
The change means that Astro and cameram4n have been reunited on FaZe, as the latter, alongside Bullet1, cyb3r, and soulz1 from MIBR have replaced yoona, ion, live, and KDS.
The trio of live, ion, and yoona has since been announced to be joining Black Dragons.
Of the MIBR roster, only Lucca "MKing" Coser has not continued over to FaZe Clan, but has been released by MIBR alongside the coach of Guilerme "Guille" Scalfi.
SiegeGG spoke to Astro regarding the roster change:
This is yet another sizeable roster change, much like the Soniqs in NA. What motivated these changes?
Astro: It was a decision made by FaZe and I can't say much about it.
You will be the only member from the current FaZe roster continuing, effectively making this a change where you have joined MIBR (but under FaZe). Does it feel odd effectively leaving your longtime teammates?
Astro: I don't like to think too much about the past; when some big change happens, I need to adjust well with my new teammates.
Do you think that these kinds of roster changes will become more commonplace as the scene develops further with this licensing system?
I think big teams always want to have great results and great teams and organisations know who the big players are.
FaZe Clan has historically been the most consistent organisation in the world, with the roster having attended every single Pro League and Major tournament since Season 5. Now, after an unmatched 10 straight LANs attended, 2020 saw the roster fall off in a steep dive.
The exit of cameram4n last March and Rafael "mav" Loureiro Freitas in August saw the roster finish Season 11 of LATAM Pro League in fourth place and Stage 2 of the BR6 League in eighth place; two results FaZe are not accustomed to.
This has led FaZe to drop most of their roster as they look to remake their success. The lone player and team captain of Astro will remain while the team's three young gunners of ion, KDS and live, as well as Yoona, will all leave.
This separation between Astro and Yoona is likely a tough one, as the two players have been playing together initially since mid-2016 when they won the Elite Six Brazilian national LAN on Santos Dexterity, before the two players reunited on FaZe following the Paris Major in 2018.
This, however, is likely a worthwhile change, as replacing them are four of the reigning Brazilian champions from MIBR; cameram4n, Bullet1, soulz1, and Cyb3r.
Top row: Cyber, Cameram4n, Astro, Bullet1, Soulz1, and Ramalho (coach)
Bottom row: Leandro Portela (Team Manager), Patife (streamer), Ivan Roichman (Team Manager), Nikih (Team Videomaker)
While on MIBR, these four players and MKing spent most of 2020 in around fourth to fifth place, with them failing to qualify for the Six August 2020 Major, finishing fourth in the November Major, and ending the BR6 League table in fourth.
This meant it was a considerable upset when they took down both Team oNe and Team Liquid in straight maps during November's BR6 LAN Finals to be crowned the Brazilian champions.
Gabriel "cameram4n" Hespanhol had competed alongside Astro from the beginning, at the 2017 Six Invitational, all the way to the 2020 Six Invitational, at which point he was dropped and replaced by live. Since then, he joined MIBR for the second-half of Season 11 and the subsequent year before taking his spot back from live for 2021.
José "Bullet1" Victor, meanwhile, is best known for competing on Team Liquid during Season 7 and being crowned a Pro League champion. Despite this achievement, he was then dropped less than a season later in favor of Luccas "Paluh" Molina, leading to a move to Immortals (later rebranded to MIBR). Since then, they have had some mixed results, getting eliminated early before finally getting a win in the 2020 BR6 Season.
On the other hand, Lucas "soulz1" Schinke is a relatively new player who won Season 10 of the Challenger League on CHICOS Team (later Elevate), before making his top-flight debut in Season 11's Pro League. This was short-lived, as they failed to qualify for 2020's BR6 League leading the team to lose their organisation and league spot despite finishing Season 11 outside the relegation zone. He then joined MIBR for the 2020 Season.
Finally, Jaime "cyb3r" Ramos was with MIBR since the very beginning and attended two Pro League Finals, two Six Majors, two Six Invitationals, and a Minor prior to the 2020 season, peaking with a third-place finish at the OGA PIT Minor.
These changes should elevate FaZe Clan back to winning ways ahead of the 2021 Six Invitational which, as their drought started just as LANs were being canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic, means their unbeaten LAN record can continue unbroken.
As well as these player announcements, FaZe also announced the signing of a new streamer in Patife, who has 350,000 Twitch and Twitter followers, making this a major move by FaZe. Patife will be co-streaming FaZe's BR6 matches throughout the season, becoming just the second streamer announced to be doing so after now-retired G2 Esports played Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen.
As for MIBR, the team has released its remaining member in MKing, who had been competing alongside cyb3r on MIBR for two years since Season 9.
Today I announce that I am F/A
I don't have much to say... Just that everything happened too fast and there was nothing to be done... I wish luck to the mibr team on their journey...
While it's possible MIBR could just pick up the four now-replaced FaZe players and a fifth player in an exchange of teams, rumours indicate the Brazilian changes are much more complicated than that, with Santos, Team oNe, and Black Dragons all also looking to fully remodel their lineups.
These FaZe and MIBR roster revamps also make them the latest teams to make such sweeping changes after Soniqs picked up four players from ex-eUnited, the whole of Nora-Rengo's roster left the organisation, and Tempra Esports dropped their roster.
With the transfer window closing on Sunday, we can expect a lot more changes to be confirmed in the coming days ahead of the 2021 season kick-off in two weeks' time. FaZe and MIBR's first games will be on March 20th, with this being FaZe's current lineup:
FaZe Clan:
Leonardo "Astro" Luis Gabriel "cameram4n" Hespanhol José "Bullet1" Victor Lucas "soulz1" Schinke Jaime "cyb3r" Ramos Matheus "Ramalho" Ramalho (coach)
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