Fnatic have confirmed the signing of Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson to its main roster, following the departure of the Slovakian Matúš ‘MATYS’ Šimko to G2.
The signing completes the Fnatic roster, which currently sits at #29 in HLTV’s live VRS model. Fnatic missed the BLAST.tv Austin Major, going 1-3 in the EU RMQ, losing to CYPHER’s BC.GAME roster in the process. The failure to make the major has condemned Fnatic to the EU online circuit, missing out on tier one competition.
Fnatic will be hoping the firepower boost from CYPHER will put them back on the right path in a year that has seen Fnatic lose MATYS recently to G2, with Ukrainian AWPer Denys ‘Burmylov’ Buraga being replaced by Dmytro ‘Jambo’ Semera on the roster.
However, they must do so having lost their top-fragging rifler in MATYS, with CYPHER tasked with making up those numbers. Not a small task for the Brit.
Why CYPHER must deliver at Fnatic
CYPHER became internationally known at the BLAST Paris Major, where the Brit propelled the Into The Breach roster into the playoffs, funnily enough, by beating Fnatic. The Brit’s relentless entrying was something that even the best teams at the event found difficult to contain, with the Brit dropping a 1.16-rated performance against eventual champions Vitality.
The story of the Brit’s career sadly did not do justice to the ability shown at that event, as the teams he joined suffered various issues, most notably the BLEED roster that became “UNPAID” following alleged months of missing payments, and a seemingly missing owner to top it off.
Despite BC.Game also having roster issues in CYPHER’s time there, the squad has proven to be a good enough foundation for the Brit to show form and earn a spot at a higher-ranked team. CYPHER’s entrying skills and aggressive style suit CS2, where teams’ performances are increasingly correlating with entry success.
That makes CYPHER a very valuable commodity in Counter-Strike 2 if he can deliver. It has taken a stop-and-start two years for CYPHER to finally get enough momentum to get the opportunity his talent deserves. Now the Brit must deliver.
Fnatic are:
Freddy ‘KRIMZ’ Johansson
Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer
Rodion ‘fear’ Smyk
Dmytro ‘jambo’ Semera
Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson
Miks ‘Independent’ Siliņš (Coach)
CYPHER will first play for Fnatic at BLAST Rising on August 1. The tournament includes rosters such as Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and OG, who will all compete for a single spot at BLAST Open London. For odds on the event and joining up offers, please see our Esports Betting Sites.
Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.