smooya announces free agency after move to TIGER fails

Steven Rondina Published 04/06/2020

Owen “smooya” Butterfield is a free agent. Again.

The British AWPer announced he is back on the market after previously flirting with Mongolian organization TIGER. Smooya wants to return to action, but shut down the idea of moving to Asia by stating he is looking for offers from North America or Europe.

Smooya first broke into the upper echelons of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2017 with Epsilon Esports. He departed the team after a year to join BIG, helping the organization hit new heights that included reaching the grand finals of ESL One Cologne 2018 and placing top eight in the FACEIT Major London. He left BIG in January after a string of poor results and rumors of discord, eventually moving to North America to join Chaos Esports Club.

Chaos found generally poor results during smooya’s tenure, with its greatest achievement being a successful qualification to Flashpoint Season 1. Chaos released smooya in March.

More recently, smooya and Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer were reportedly in negotiations with TIGER. The organization was set to add the two European players, but those plans were aborted when its all-Mongolian roster enjoyed a surge of success that included winning the ESL Road to Rio: Asia event and the Weibo Cup Asia Professional Championship 2020. 

Snappi has since become a substitute for Astralis, while smooya was left in limbo.

smooya could find new team for ESL One Cologne and cs_summit 6

Though Chaos wasn’t extraordinary in the first quarter of 2020, smooya remains a very skilled player when correctly positioned. He could stand as an upgrade for many of the teams in both North America and Europe that underwhelmed in the ESL Road to Rio events, though there may be concerns with is potential interpersonal fit.

It shouldn’t take him too long to find a home. It’s going to be a hot summer for CSGO, highlighted by cs_summit 6 and ESL One Cologne 2020. Teams looking for an upgrade at the sniper position could be interested in making a new addition.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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