FNATIC finalise CS roster with the signing of dexter and afro

Fnatic has strengthened its Counter-Strike roster with the signing of in-game leader Christopher “dexter” Nong and French rifler Aurélien “afro” Drapier to their active lineup.

With the official signings of Christopher “dexter” Nong and Aurélien “afro” Drapier Fnatic has finalized the starting five players of its CS:GO division. Earlier, the organization parted ways with Dion “FASHR” Derksen and benched AWPer Nico “⁠nicoodoz⁠” Tamjidi following the team’s dismal performance in 2023, having failed to win anything notable throughout the year.

WELCOME @afro_csgo AND @dextersjourney 🧡🖤

With the changes to the CS roster, we’re proud to welcome Christopher “dexter” Nong and Aurélien “afro” Drapier to the team, taking on the mantle of IGL and AWPer respectively.

We can’t wait to see them on the server and wearing the… pic.twitter.com/B81iHPHQ7r

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) July 6, 2023

Dexter to assume Fnatic’s IGL role

Dexter will assume the position of team’s In-Game leader, relieving star rifler William “mezii” Merriman of his leadership responsibilities. The Australian IGL began his career in 2015, but he only became popular after joining Grayhound in 2017, where he did a commendable job carrying his IGL duties till 2019. A short time afterward, the player was able to land a position with MOUZ, where he made sure that his new team was successful in the same way.

In particular, he worked hard with MOUZ to win Flashpoint Season Three Europe in May 2021 and finish in the top four at the IEM Rio Major 2022. The group kept performing well in 2023, finishing in the top eight in the ESL Pro League Season 17, the top four at BetBoom Playlist Urbanistic, and second place at IEM Dallas 2023.

Despite their constant efforts, dexter and MOUZ failed to win any major trophy, forcing the organization to make changes before to Counter-Strike esports scene transitioned to the impending CS2. MOUZ strategically acquired Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek, a former MOUZ academy player, during the off-season after he led GamerLegion to a dazzling Grand Final run in the BLAST.

Fnatic rounds out the roster with Afro

Fnatic had been considering Afro since the start of the year, but a transfer seemed unlikely given his lack of Tier 1 experience. The French player, who began playing CS:GO competitively in 2020, had significant success with HEET, particularly at the ESL Challenger League Season 40: Europe, Winter 2021, and Spring 2022 editions of the Elisa Invitational As Afro’s last team LDLC closed down its Counter-Strike division at the end of the spring season, he was left without a squad.

In addition to these two latest signings, Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov, who has been sitting on OG’s bench since June 20, is apparently another star AWPer that Fnatic is interested in recruiting. The 21-year-old player’s skill with his AWP is apparent; for the past 12 months that he was with OG, he had an exceptional 1.15 HLTV rating. The brand-new Fnatic team is scheduled to make its public debut during the IEM Cologne play-in stage, which will begin on July 26 and end around July 28.

Header: MOUZ