R6 Siege – Stigs & Tex Benched by Fnatic

Fnatic has announced the benching of both Tex “Tex” Thompson and Riley “Stigs” Mills from their Rainbow Six Siege roster, with the duo having been dropped after a  pretty disappointing season in the APAC North. It was the second successive year of failure for the team, with Fnatic having broken the news of the departures via Twitter on October 26.

As part of their new Twitter post, Fnatic wrote that they will be “looking at new options for the Rainbox 6 Siege starting lineup”. It has been a period of transition for the team, with Leo “Alphama” Robine and Patrick “MentalistC” Fan having played together for the first time at the beginning of Stage 3. Meanwhile, Jason “Lusty” Chen was also moved to the sixth-man role.

What Does the Future Hold for Fnatic?

It remains to be seen as to whether Lusty will return to Fnatic’s active roster in the next few months, with head coach Jayden “Dizzle” Saunders having confirmed that both Tex and Stigs would be available for transfer. If no suitors can be found, the duo will be allowed to run their contracts down.

Meanwhile, time will also tell if the org will decide to acquire two new players in order to continue with a six-man roster. Alternatively, Fnatic may well choose to simply stick to a core group of five players. Much will depend on the availability of Lusty.

Fnatic ended the 2021 APAC North season Stage 1 in 4th position, before then moving up one place in Stage 2. However, their upturn in form did not last long, with the org having only managed a fifth-place finish in Stage 3. Meanwhile, in the Stage 1 and 2 APAC Playoffs, Fnatic was knocked out in the Lower Bracket Finals and Lower Bracket Round 3, respectively.

When Will Fnatic Return to Action?

The team was due to return to action at the Six Invitational 2022 APAC Qualifier. However, roster lock regulations mean that they will be required to play one of their coaches or bring two of Tex, Stigs and Lusty back into the fold. With such steps unlikely to take place, it is unlikely that Fnatic will compete in the SI Qualifier.

Fnatic did announce a switch to Japan in 2020. However, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions mean that the plan has been put on hold. The remainder of the Fnatic roster is made up by Etienne “Mag” Rousseau, Patrick “MentalistC” Fan and Leo “Alphama” Robine.