Update (Feb. 25):
Fnatic has bid farewell to Patrick "MentalistC" Fan and Jason "Lusty" Chen, its two remaining players on contract, and all of its former players. Lusty had not been on the active Fnatic roster, however.
Also of note is that Fnatic captain Etienne "Mag" Rousseau was not part of the farewell, indicating that the Australian will be part of the new-look Japan-based roster as well.
Original (Feb. 22):
Japan League organizer X-MOMENT has announced that Fnatic will participate in the Japan League 2022, alongside a tease of a new Japan-based competitive roster from Fnatic itself.
The announcement comes in the wake of speculation about Fnatic’s departure from APAC North or Rainbow Six Siege entirely after the APAC North Relegations had been changed to allow three teams to qualify, instead of two as previously announced.
However, one day after the announcement of the change in the APAC North Relegations, GUTS Gaming had announced a complete withdrawal from competitive Siege and had dropped its roster. The former GUTS roster also saw Takumi "JJ" Iwasaki retire from competitive Siege on Feb. 21.
Fnatic currently only has two active players, Etienne "Mag" Rousseau and Patrick "MentalistC" Fan. Tex Thompson and Riley "Stigs" Mills were released in 2021, Léo "Alphama" Robine in Feb. 2022, and Jason "Lusty" Chen was shifted to a sixth-man role prior to Stage 3 in 2021.
In addition, Fnatic’s Strategic Coach, Laurent "Crapelle" Patriarche, also left in Feb. 2022. Only Jayden "Dizzle" Saunders remains on the coaching staff.
Fnatic had planned to move its Australian-majority roster to Japan alongside the change to the competitive structure present today. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has consistently hamstrung attempts, and has provided a significant barrier with visas.
The Japan League 2021 was a US$308,000 tournament running from March to September, and featured eight teams. Each team had each of its maximum six players and coaches (combined) guaranteed up to ¥21 million (US$202,000) in salary for the competitive year.
In 2021, CYCLOPS athlete gaming were runaway victors, winning all 14 BO3 matches to become champions.
Check back here for further updates on Fnatic’s future in Siege.
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