FaZe Clan coach YNk wanted a bigger rebuild, talks IGL problems

Fariha Bhatti Published 25/11/2020

Faze’s former coach Janko “YNk” Paunović has said that a “bigger rebuild of the lineup” could have made him stay with FaZe Clan.

FaZe Clan drops coach YnK

YNk previously left the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, citing dissatisfaction with the organization and its players. On HLTVConfirmed, YNk discussed the perpetual In-game leader problems in FaZe Clan that eventually led him to walk away. The coach had a vision of rebuilding the lineup consisting of Justin “jks” Savage and Chris “dexter” Nong, a lineup that he thinks would have been powerful enough to extend his stay.

“It means going into more of a bigger rebuild of the lineup, changing more players. In a scenario in which I would try to bring dexter from renegades as an IGL, I mean this was just me in my head that this guy deserves a chance. Nothing was being done.” YNk said.

2020 has seen multiple roster shuffles, but Nikola “NiKo” Kovač’s complicated move to G2 has been the highlight of the year. It left FaZe without a leader, and eventually without a coach, as YNk was quick to resign. However, this is not the first time that FaZe is without an IGL.

NiKo goes from FaZe to G2 Esports in “biggest CSGO signing in history”

Since the day Finn “karrigan” Andersen left his post, no one has been able to fill in effectively. However, the organization kept shooting its shot to get a new IGL.

YNk’s ideal IGL members for FaZe Clan

The 28-year-old dropped names of various bluechip players who he thinks could save the sinking ship that is FaZe. Filip “NEO” Kubski, Markus “pronax” Wallsten, and Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer were his top priority for the IGL position. FaZe also tried to put Robin “flusha” Rönnquist on its payroll, but he declined the offer.

But that wasn’t it. The long list of potential FaZe IGLs continue. Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen were also on Faze’s radar. Not signing them was one of the “biggest mistakes” the team made, according to YNk.

BlameF and Aleksib are both veteran players with tons of experience in the game. Soon after the Berlin major, the two players were bought off the market by Complexity and OG, respectively, leaving no suitable IGLs available.

FaZe’s next, and the best option was Alex “ALEX” McMeekin, a deal that YNk wanted to seal. However, it couldn’t happen due to reasons the coach won’t reveal.

With YNk and Niko out of the team, FaZe is lacking a leader who could steer the team in the correct direction. Marcelo “coldzera” David has confirmed that he doesn’t wish to be an IGL for long, which means that FaZe is actively on a lookout for an IGL. With Karrigan’s contract ending in march of 2021, various sources are reporting that FaZe may try to bring him back to the clan.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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