Team 7AM have announced that Slavan “AwaykeN” Lyubyanov has joined the team.
Completing our #CS2 puzzle once more, please welcome @AwaykeNCS to 7AM! Let's go 💪#7AMWIN pic.twitter.com/UcKQFmvrbq
— Team 7AM (@Team7AM) December 13, 2023
A spot opened on the roster when AWPer Dmytro “SENSEi” Shvorak’s contract was terminated after he received a two-year ban from the Esports Integrity Commission for match-fixing on a previous team. This necessitated a swift replacement, as owner John “wunda” Smith-Howell explained to us, since the team already had a bootcamp planned:
After the news of a 7AM player being banned for match-fixing pre-7AM we needed to find a replacement, especially as we were flying the team out to Serbia for a bootcamp within days of this happening.
The UK-based AwaykeN was quickly identified as a target for Team 7AM, but there was just one problem – along with the rest of the ex-Raptors core, he had just signed with Viperio who were expecting him to join them for the upcoming UKIC Division 1 Finals.
AwaykeN was on our radar but we knew was recently contracted to Viperio. After talking to [the Viperio owners], we quickly came to a deal that worked for both us and the player.
A deal was swiftly done, and AwaykeN flew out to join his new Team 7AM team-mates mere hours after originally signing with Viperio. Viperio used Daniel “papp” Hart as a standin for the UKIC LAN due to roster lock rules, finishing in last place after defeats by K10 and DuckDuckGOOSE. Brodie Mulvaney, co-owner of Viperio, said to UKCSGO:
It’s unfortunate that we never got to see AwaykeN compete in Viperio colours, although I’m glad he seems to have settled into his new home.
Not long after of signing his contract, Slaven made it clear that he wanted to join Team 7AM. As he had a contract in place with Viperio, we worked closely with John and were able to swiftly come to an agreement where all parties were satisfied – resulting in a smooth and easy player transfer.
AwaykeN was a standout player on his previous roster and was key in their victories at ESL Premiership Autumn 2023 and EPICLAN 40. He has an average HLTV rating of 1.15 in 2023, mainly in fixtures against domestic opposition but also European Pro League Season 7 Division 2 and the CCT East Europe Series 4 Closed Qualifier. Before joining Raptors EC he also played with OG Academy, again operating as the team’s primary sniper.
Team 7AM are yet to play any fixtures with AwaykeN. They were relegated from ESEA Advanced with a 4-8 record, and have no standout results in other online tournaments so far. That said, in the last few days there have been allegations of cheating against Inferus eSports, who defeated Team 7AM in the final game of the season. Should those allegations be proven true, ESEA could choose to revert that result as punishment, which would change Team 7AM’s record to 5-7. At this stage, however, Team 7AM will be lining up in Main next year.
Team 7AM are now:
James “bevve” Slinn (on loan from Into the Breach)
William “dobbo” Dobson
Ivan “choiv7” Živković
Viktor “Duplicate” Mitev
Slavan “AwaykeN” Lyubyanov
Kaloyan “POP0V” Popov (coach)
