Fnatic Academy to play as Ballistix at the PGL European Minor

Fnatic’s academy team will play under Ballistix, one of their main hardware sponsors, at the PGL European Minor this upcoming weekend in Bucharest, Romania, the organization announced yesterday.

Fnatic said that they are “still looking for somewhere permanent” for the team to develop, despite the squad representing Ballistix at the minor. Their rebranding is just a “temporary” change that will occur “during this event only,” according to Ballistix.

Related: Academy teams must rebrand for PGL Major qualifiers—but multiple ownership still permitted

Academy teams have become a significant issue ever since PGL, the Krakow Major tournament organizers, ruled that academy teams must represent a different “nametag and logo” than the main team. Academy teams are meant to foster talent in the lower echelons of Counter-Strike, while also maintaining the same branding. They’ve become more common among large organizations, such as Fnatic, North, and CLG.

Ballistix will be fighting among eight teams for one of three spots at the PGL Major Krakow Offline Qualifier, which will take place from June 29 to July 2. In the initial group stage, they’ll compete against BIG, Team EnVyUs, and Team Kinguin in Group A. If they survive the group stage, they may later play either PENTA Sports, Team LDLC, Team Dignitas, or iGame.com, who are in Group B.

Ballistix could very well startle some of the big-name teams, such as EnVyUs, at the European Minor with their upset potential.