FaZe official: Delegating veteran Rain to the bench to make room for Twistzz's return

North American CS2 professional team FaZe officially announced on Monday that they have relegated Norwegian veteran Haval Nygaard (ID: rain) to the bench. This move is intended to make room for the return of Canadian player Russell van Duerken (ID: Twistzz), who will replace rain in the starting lineup.

With Rain's departure from the bench, his nearly decade-long partnership with FaZe officially comes to an end. Rain, 31, primarily a rifler, entered the Counter-Strike world with FaZe in January 2016. To date, he has played 113 maps and 47,538 rounds for FaZe, racking up 32,927 kills with a 56.8% headshot rate and an average rating of 1.01.

During his time with FaZe, Rain also helped FaZe win 19 championship titles, including the SL-i Star League S3 Finals, the 2017 ESL ONE New York Championship, the 2017 ELEAGUE Super League Championship, the ECS Season 4 Finals Championship, the 2018 IEM Sydney Championship, the 2018 ESL ONE Belo Horizonte Championship, the 2018 Moscow Epicenter Cup Championship, the 2019 ELEAGUE Invitational Championship, the 2019 BLAST Pro Miami Championship, the 2019 BLAST Pro Copenhagen champion, 2020 IEM New York European champion, 2022 IEM Katowice champion, ESL Pro League S15 champion, 2022 PGL Antwerp Major champion, 2022 IEM Cologne champion, ESL Pro League S17 champion, ESL Grand Slam Season 4 champion, 2023 IEM Sydney champion, 2023 Thunderpick World Championship champion, 2023 Hero AFC Champions League ACL champion and 2024 IEM Chengdu champion.

However, FaZe has been in a championship drought for 18 months since winning the 2024 IEM Chengdu. Rain's relegation to the bench this time demonstrates FaZe's determination to seek breakthroughs through lineup adjustments.

Regarding FaZe's decision, Rain responded via the X platform: "After ten unforgettable years, I am finally saying goodbye to FaZe Clan. Although FaZe has chosen a new direction, I remain incredibly proud of what we have achieved together over the past decade."

"To my teammates past and present, thank you for the countless memories, incredible matches, and trophies we've shared. It's been a tremendous honor to play alongside the best in gaming."

“I’d like to thank the team and everyone who believed in me for giving me the opportunity to represent FaZe. I’d also like to thank all the fans who support me and the team. You’ve always given me the loudest cheers.”

Rain subsequently denied the retirement rumors, while stating his willingness to transition to a more in-game leaderboard role. "My journey in CS2 is far from over," he stated. "I will not retire. I will continue to compete and grow as a player. I am open to any role. While transitioning to a leaderboard role may be a new challenge, I'm eager to accept it."

“No matter what role I take on, the focus, passion and fighting spirit that I have maintained over the years will not change. I am ready for the next challenge,” he concluded.

FaZe's current roster is as follows:

Commander/Rifleman: Finn Anderson (ID: karrigan)

Rifleman: David Chernansky (ID: frozen)

Sniper: Hervés Szakanz (ID: broky)

Rifleman: Jakub Pietrushevski (ID: jcobbb)

Coach: Philip Kubski (ID: NEO)

Substitute: Olof Kebbiye (ID: olofmeister)

Substitute: Haval Nygard (ID: rain)