Fnatic has added Owen “smooya” Butterfield to its roster for a three-month probationary period, Fnatic announced today.
The British AWPer replaced Fnatic at the IEM Winter Europe open qualifiers last weekend and helped them beat GamerLegion, K23 and Galaxy Racer. The international CS:GO team also played an official match with academy player Iulian “regali” Harjău, finally deciding to give smooya a shot.
The arrival of Smooya means that while Fnatic is UK-based, Fnatic has a British core in Counter-Strike for the first time in its founding history. Brits Alex McMeekin and Willian “mezii” Merriman as part of the squad rebuild.
“I've been waiting for a chance like this for years and I think now is the perfect time for it to happen,” smooya said in a TwitLonger. The British AWPer has always been talented, but his personality has caused him to miss opportunities in first-tier teams over the past few years.
“During my career, I never thought I'd see myself inside Fnatic for mistakes I've made in the past, but all I can say is thank you to Samuelsson [Fnatic's manager] for putting his own reputation into believing in me so much.
Smooya's official debut with Fnatic will be at the IEM Winter Europe closed qualifier scheduled for October 18-19.
