One of the most established esports franchises will no longer field an academy roster in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
The move by Fnatic to drop its academy comes after tournament organizers recently raised issues about potential conflicts of interest from esports teams owning multiple CS:GO rosters.
On May 19, the team secured a spot in the upcoming European Minor, which acts as a pre-qualifier for the upcoming PGL Kraków Major. But the team would need to rebrand to compete in that tournament due to a recent rule change by the organizer. As such, the players decided to look for a new home altogether.
PGL is not the only CS:GO event organizer to take a stance against teams fielding multiple rosters. ESL announced on April 22 that organizations would have to sell their academy division if they were to compete in an event along with the main roster.
Fnatic isn’t the only top-rated organization that may have to consider severing ties with its academy squad. Gambit, for example, acquired an academy team in February this year.
The former Fnatic Academy roster was brought onboard on Aug. 23 last year. Since joining, the players placed well at multiple international LAN events. Their biggest success, however, came on Dec. 18, when they won $71,000 at the China Top event in Shenzen, China.
The former Fnatic Academy roster will compete at the European Minor between June 15 to 18 under a yet-to-be-determined name.
