Two big changes announced for the premiere team.
FaZe has announced Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev as their new player, and Janko “YNk” Paunović as its new coach.
AdreN will stand-in as FaZe CS:GO’s 5th player through the next major, filling the void left by Finn “karrigan” Andersen, who was benched by the team late last year before joining Envy.
Meanwhile YNk will replacing Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström as FaZe’s new coach. Robban stepped down as its coach on Saturday, having spent three years guiding the team. He will be moving into a different role at FaZe which is due to be announced soon.
OFFICIAL: @AdreNcs will stand-in as FaZe CS:GOs 5th player through the Major, @YNk has signed on to coach the team Our first games with the new-look lineup will take place at the iBUYPOWER Masters in Los Angeles, California from January 19th-20th. Welcome! #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/k3wW2cwq3y
FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) January 6, 2019
AdreN has played for big teams like Virtus.pro and Hellraisers in the past, but this is his most significant move since joining Gambit, who he led to victory at the PGL Major Krakow. While he’s not secured himself a permanent contract, he’ll certainly have a chance to prove himself in the lead up to the next major, and at the major itself. If the team finds success, it’s almost certain he’ll be a permanent fixture.
YNk’s long been an analyst and in-game caster for the CS:GO scene, but only recently took up the coaching mantle. He joined Brazilian team MIBR as their coach between August and December 2018, during which period the team won the ZOTAC Cup Masters, but struggled to gain traction otherwise.
In an interview with HLTV.org prior to his signing, YNk expressed mixed feelings when looking back at his time with MIBR. He agrees that “results could have been better”, but did not think his stint was a failure. From his point of view, it seems he simply couldn’t harbour an idealistic working culture with a star-studded team which was used to doing things their own way.
YNk alludes to his future coaching stint with FaZe in the interview, and says “things can be different if I make it clear before joining how things need to be. I still have the desire to push through some of the concepts that I have about the game.”
If you want to catch FaZe’s revamped roster in action, the team will be making its first appearance at the iBUYPOWER Masters between January 19-20.
