FunPlus Phoenix is expected to part ways with two of its long-standing VALORANT players in Tobias “ShadoW” Flodström and Dmitriy “dimasick” Matvienko in the coming days, according to multiple reports.
The various reports indicate that the organization will seek to continue competing in Europe and reportedly won’t transfer to a full CIS roster. The moves were first reported by VLR.gg, as well as freelance reporters Arran “Halo” Spake and Krystian Terpiński.
FPX entered VALORANT in August 2020, beginning with a foundation of youth and experience via young controller Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky and veteran former CS:GO in-game leader Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow. The team rounded out the roster with Pontus “Zyppan” Eek and ShadoW before adding dimasick in January 2021 to replace Johan “Meddo” Lundborg, who later found a home with Giants.
FPX have found a consistent place at the top of EU VALORANT since the roster came together, but they also consistently fell just short at the biggest events of each stage. In Stage One, they fell in the semifinals of Masters One to eventual champions Acend. In Stage Two, they lost back-to-back series to Liquid and Gambit in the EMEA Challengers Finals, squandering an early victory over Gambit and missing out on Masters Two Reykjavik. Stage Three was the most disappointing, though. They snuck into the EMEA Challengers Playoffs via Challengers One but were eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket after two heartbreaking losses against Fire Flux and forZe.
With FPX out of the running for the Last Chance Qualifier based on their VCT point totals, the organization is reportedly looking to “overhaul” its roster heading into next year. This overhaul will also reportedly see analyst Thibaut “menegh” Brognard leave the team, according to VLR. The organization is also recruiting Chinese players ahead of the game’s upcoming release in China.
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