FaZe Clan's karrigan reveals why he left mousesports

Fariha Bhatti Published 05/03/2021

FaZe Clan’s new captain, Finn “karrigan” Andersen, has finally come clean about his major roster switch from mousesports to FaZe Clan.

In an interview with HLTV, one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most respected in-game leaders, karrigan, threw light on his decision to step down from mousesports. The skipper said that he wanted to choose experienced players over youngsters.

karrigan’s return to FaZe was just as confusing for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans as it was refreshing. The skilled in-game leader was effectively burnishing mousesports’ young roster when the reports of the team switch started to surface. With mousesports thriving form, it seemed unlikely that the team would undergo any roster change. However, the captain later confirmed all reports, moving to lead new FaZe in BLAST Premier Spring.

karrigan says he had burnout symptoms in mousesports

The IGL revealed that workload at mousesports had drained him of his energy. With Allan “Rejin” Petersen’s coaching bug controversy, karrigan was left as the sole leader in a squad jammed with young blood. Off and on-server duties fell on his shoulder, resulting in him struggling with symptoms of burnout.

“Honestly, I felt really burned out like never before. This is also why I had to take a vacation, even though I didn’t want to. Also, mouz is not an organization that will go out and buy a super expensive player if that is needed for the team to be the No.1,” said karrigan.

In mousesports, karrigan coached the likes of Aurimas “Bymas” Pipiras, Robin “ropz” Kool, David “frozen” Čerňanský. Excluding Chris “chrisJ” de Jong, the Danish-German skipper was surrounded by young players with limited experience in CSGO. With tons of pressure to lead and perform well, stress-related issues were imminent for karrigan.

In his interview, karrigan said that the refined players in FaZe shaped his decision to switch teams.

“In the end, I chose experience over young players. I don’t know if I could reach the goals with the young guys in mousesports,” he said.

In FaZe, the IGL joined CSGO veteran Marcelo “coldzera” David and the fresh addition of Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken. FaZe clan also has a dedicated AWPer in Helvijs “broky” Saukants, a role that mousesports desperately needed to fill in after benching Özgür “woxic” Eker, according to karrigan. With two fraggers and a secondary shot-caller, karrigan certainly carries less burden in FaZe.

FaZe Clan’s latest revamp has polished the rusty roster to the sheen. Twistzz added to the team’s gun-power, but it was karrigan’s acquisition that breathed life into FaZe. With a captain that has previously proven his brilliance, the team finally has someone they can trust in-game. The impact of the overhaul could easily be observed in FaZe’s performance in BLAST Premier Spring and then IEM Katowice 2021.

Things are already looking up for FaZe Clan’s CSGO division. But, the IGL has confirmed that improvements are still underway. FaZe will soon have a team psychologist and an analyst to help karrigan focus more on strat-making and on-server duties.

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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