One of the most successful Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the game’s history will reportedly be making a change to its roster, according to HLTV.
After a four-month slump, SK Gaming has replaced João “felps” Vasconcellos in favor of former Immortals rifler Ricardo “boltz” Prass. In the event of this move happening, however, SK Gaming will be forced to attend the upcoming ELEAGUE Major in Boston with a stand-in, as boltz has already competed in the qualifiers for the $1 million event, making him ineligible to appear at the Valve Major.
SK Gaming, who in early 2017 won several significant events like Intel Extreme Masters Sydney and ESL One Cologne, have been embroiled in behind-the-scenes turmoil after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the PGL Major. Felps has allegedly been at the center of the supposed tension, according to HLTV.
Boltz, who was seen competing with Immortals in the grand finals of the PGL Major on July 23, has previously competed with SK Gaming’s Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Fernando “fer” Alvarenga. After spending close to two years with the two players, the group was able to reach the quarterfinals of three consecutive Valve Majors in 2015.
This would also mark the first time in nearly 18 months that boltz competed with a different organization. Although the 20-year-old rifler was able to reach the grand finals of the PGL Major, the Immortals roster disintegrated shortly afterwards due to internal conflicts—which led to the majority of the roster departing from the organization.
With only two players from the original roster present, Immortals lost its legend-status in the Valve Major circuit, which forced the team to requalify for the upcoming ELEAGUE Major in Boston. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated early on in the Americas qualifier for the event, meaning the organization will not be attending the Valve Major.
Boltz’s debut with SK Gaming is set to take place at the second iteration of EPICENTER in Moscow. The event will be taking place between Oct. 23 to 29.
