Syrson leaves Sprout, likely to join all-German BIG roster

Florian “syrsoN“ Rische is no longer affiliated with the Sprout organization or its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster.

The organization announced the news on December 22. 

“Goodbye, syrsoN. He has proven himself as an exceptional talent and it was a pleasure having him,” the organization said on Twitter. “We thank you Rische, for the energy and effort you put in the team. Even though we are sure your journey isn’t over yet, we wish you best of luck and success for your future.”

The AWPer joined in January 2019 with Sabit “mirbit“ Coktasar as part of Sprout’s restructuring of its roster.

syrsoN’s career started with the release of Global Offensive in 2012. He played with a number of amateur teams until ALTERNATE aTTax signed him to its roster in May 2016. The AWPer spent more than two years playing under the ALTERNATE aTTax banner before deciding not to renew his contract with the organization.

Teammate Nils “k1to” Gruhne is expected to depart Sprout as well, with a report placing both players with BIG as they return to an all-German roster. They will likely take the places of Owen “smooya” Butterfield and Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, who are likely to depart the team.

In a twist of fate, smooya actually replied to syrsoN’s announcement that he was leaving ALTERNATE aTTax for a new team in December 2018. In the reply, Smooya suggested that syrsoN join BIG Clan.

Options for smooya and XANTARES are limited, but it’s possible that AVANGAR is in the market for a fresh start in Counter-Strike. Earlier this month, the organization sold their entire CSGO roster to Virtus.pro on December 16.

AVANGAR possible destination for XANTARES, smooya

Interestingly, an interview posted December 22 with AVANGAR CEO Yongun Kim explained why the organization moved on from its roster. In the interview, Kim is asked what’s next for AVANGAR.

“I’d like to say to all the fans, don’t worry. We’re still here, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll keep on working. Yeah, we have no squads right now. But it doesn’t mean that we have no idea what to do now. Don’t worry, we’re working on it right now,” said Kim.

Sprout is reportedly pursuing former HellRaisers player Tomáš “oskar” Šťastný as syrsoN’s replacement. Oskar was benched by the organization in August and officially became a free agent on October 15.

There has been no official word on k1to’s status with the Sprout organization, but ENCE recently detailed how the signing of players is more complicated than some might think. Contracts can be inked between organizations while negotiations continue between the new team and the player, as was the case with OG’s CSGO roster.

Sprout will play its next match at DreamHack Open Leipzig 2020 on January 24, thanks in part to syrsoN’s performance at ESL Meisterschaft Winter. The organization was awarded a spot at Leipzig due to the league’s integration into the ESL Pro Tour.