CS:GO veteran JW might be switching to VALORANT as he exits Fnatic

Jul 20, 2021

Jesper "JW" Wecksell, one of the greatest players in Counter-Stike history, was today dropped from the Fnatic starting roster in a move that looks to have marked the end of his time with the organization, and this time it’s for good. He leaves the roster as a three-time major winner, with his future in CSGO far from secure after a period of poor performances led Fnatic to make this cut.

The news was announced by Milan "Striker" Švejda of HLTV, who managed to speak to the organization and obtain a quote from the player himself, in which JW hinted at a possible move to VALORANT. According to HLTV’s piece, JW will ‘take time to reflect on what he could have done differently and "bring that with me to whatever is next in life, be it CS, VALORANT, or esports in general."’

The hint at a move to Riot’s tactical shooter could mark the end of one of the greatest careers in CSGO, with JW arguably one of the first true superstars of the game. His aggressive AWP play as part of a dominant Fnatic team made him a standout name in the infancy of Valve’s masterpiece, and led to one of the most enduring partnerships in all of esports.

Alongside winning three of the first six CSGO Majors, JW was part of twenty title wins in his time at Fnatic, a record that seemed impossible to break prior to the rise of the AStralis core that also took three major titles. His benching leaves Fnatic with just three active players after IGL Maikil ‘Golden’ Selim was moved to the inactive roster amid reports the org may abandon their Swedish identity and seek to build an international roster around their remaining stars, namely Freddy ‘KRIMZ’ Johansson and Ludwig ‘Brollan’ Brolin.

His relationship with "KRIMZ" Johansson spanned seven years, with the pair first linking up on Fnatic back in 2014 and playing together right up until this move. With both having signed 3-year deals in 2019, JW looks to be under contract with his org until the start of 2022, but offers for an aging player that is out of form may be hard to come by in a CSGO scene awash with unsigned talent.

While other legends of the game have made the move across on the North American side, it’s fair to say none of Hiko, DaZeD, Steel or the rest have a CV that can match up with JW’s, making this the biggest name to potentially move across. At the time of writing there is no confirmation that he has any plans to do so, meaning it is possible we could see him transition into a coaching role, or operational position with an org, if he feels his time behind the mouse and keyboard has truly come to an end.