In what was one of the merrier news for the UKCS scene at the time when FAMBIT finally found a home in EKO, the seemingly stable core of the team has finally seen a change. One of the two additions that FAMBIT made before signing to EKO, James “Mad” Debono, has been benched by the org. This comes after a string of poor results by the team and their failure to cement dominance in the UK scene.
This news doesn’t come as a big surprise and can more or less be linked to EKO’s defeat at Insomnia69, losing out to underdogs Temperate. Not only it was a nail-biting series with a close score line of 3-2, but also it was a huge upset for EKO as they flubbed a 2-0 lead and got reverse swept by Temperate, no less in a grand final where they were favourites to take home the trophy. On an individual level, Mad also hasn’t been able to put up the same individual numbers as his teammates, averaging a 0.89 HLTV rating during his time at EKO Esports.
We are sad to announce that we are parting ways with @_MadCS from our CS:GO Roster with immediate effect. Thank you for your efforts over the last couple of months, and best of luck for whatever the future holds for you! pic.twitter.com/oDAo3173Ed
— EKO Esports (@EKO_Esport) September 1, 2022
The team has also seemingly found a new replacement for the outgoing player in form of a familiar face of Kirk “Tadpole” Stephens, who also stood in for the former FAMBIT core at UKIC Spring Invitational 2022. It is not yet official but it is understood that this could likely be a permanent move. The new EKO Esports roster is already showing promise, which was proved by their win at SteelSeries NOVA Cup Fall 2022 (UK & Ireland) over the regional favourites Into The Breach.
Mad currently finds himself without a team as he is carefully exploring his options and is looking to prove himself once again. UKCSGO wishes him the best for his future endeavours.
EKO Esports is now:
Kirk “Tadpole” Stephens (stand-in)
Tom “arTisT” Clarke
Matas “Extinct” Strumila
Callum “Girafffe” Jones
Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen
Ciaran “biscu” King (coach)
