Just days removed from a run that took them to the finals at Dreamhack Valencia, Epsilon have decided to make a surprising change to their roster.
The French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team put together a strong performance in Valencia. Series victories over local favorites Over Gaming and especially tournament favorites Hell Raisers brought Epsilon into a finals confrontation with fellow French side LDLC.
The best-of-three final came down to the last game, which LDLC won 16-11 after a strong first half start.
As close as Epsilon came to achieving a championship victory, the narrow loss was enough to convince the team to change. Valentin “Mistou” Balbastro was released and replaced by sniping specialist Joey “fxy0” Schlosser.
Balbastro had faced criticism from fans for his performance after joining Epsilon in May, but the timing of the move was unexpected.
Schlosser’s status as a designated sniper stands to fill a gap within the Epsilon roster, but he brings a history of infighting and forced removals from prior teams. It remains to be seen whether his skills in the game can offset any potential rankling of feathers within the group.
Epsilon’s star player Richard “Shox” Papillon took to Facebook to explain the move.
“Despite a really good performance at Dreamhack Valencia this weekend, it appears to us something that something is missing in our team to become the best: a sniper,” Papillon said.
“That’s why we are integrating Schlosser in the team and he’ll be our main sniper.”
Epsilon will continue their participation in the SLTV Star Series while preparing for August’s G3 tournament in London.
