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FaZe Clan benches rain after 10 years
After 3541 days on the team, FaZe Clan have decided to bench Håvard “rain” Nygaard. The MVP of the team's only Major trophy, he has been the solid backboard for the team’s chaos to bounce off.
The Star and the Leader
Rain joined FaZe as part of the organization’s acquisition of the G2-Kinguin roster. The relatively young international experiment, one of the first of its kind, filled with star power made their name with back-to-back solid Major runs in 2015.
What started as the Kinguin core featuring Dennis, Fox, Scream and Maikelele and rain as the IGL and their biggest star of the team later transitioned to Gamers2 i.e. G2 and then FaZe Clan.
Unfortunately, the internal struggles meant the team failed to reach their full potential. Despite the shaky performances from the squad, rain remained the rock of the team, putting up insane performances fueled by his mechanical brilliance and sharp mind for the game.
The turning point for FaZe, however, was Karrigan joining as the IGL in October 2016 and the subsequent formation of the superteam in August 2017.
Your Favorite Players’ Favorite Player
With Karrigan at the helm, FaZe brought in NiKo, Olof and Guardian in 2017. Rain was the anchor of the squad filled with the best players in the world. The squad hit the ground running, winning their second ever tournament together and followed it with another S-tier trophy.
For the remainder of 2017, FaZe Clan placed out of the top 3 only once and were the favorites to win the 2018 Boston Major. Unfortunately, the team choked a 15-9 lead to lose the final map and the trophy.
The team imploded following the Major, olof took multiple breaks and FaZe became a cesspool of player transfers. Karrigan left in 2018, Guardian in 2019 and later NiKo in 2020. The time period in between was filled with struggles, but rain stayed and became the constant support system for the erratic roster.
The trophies that came far and few in-between, rain remained one of the team's consistent top performers. It wasn’t until 2022 when FaZe Clan brought in ropz to replace olofmeister, that an era of stability returned to the squad.
The 2022 squad featuring ropz, Twistzz, Broky, Karrigan and rain became one of the strongest in Counter-Strike and at the Antwerp Major defeated Natus Vincere to become the first international squad to lift a Counter-Strike Major.
Nine years into his career, Rain at the ripe age of 29, lifted the much deserved Major trophy as the MVP.
Since then, FaZe Clan have won multiple trophies, and after a slump in 2022, came back in 2023 to become the first team to win back-to-back-to-back trophies in CS2.
What makes rain special?
Since their strong performance back in 2023, FaZe Clan hasn’t necessarily won any trophies. In retrospect, FaZe Clan isn’t close to being one of the most successful teams, but there are windows throughout these years where they were simply the best.
And through the thick and the thin, the peak and the trenches, one player has remained a constant and that is rain.
Throughout his career, rain has been a player who rises to the occasion. He has taken up the toughest roles and responsibilities, adjusted for the team and yet continued bringing the firepower.
A man of a few words, rain has always chosen to speak with his performance and like the best players of any sport he scales with the pressure. There are numerous examples of him being what the team needed in the most crucial moments. And despite the chaos that defines FaZe Clan, rain has remained the representation of the order within.
What’s next for Rain?
In the last 10 years, FaZe and rain have become synonymous. Rain’s departure marks an end of an era, not only for FaZe Clan but also for the larger Counter-Strike community.
Any Counter-Strike team will benefit from rain joining them. But for the fans of the game, it will be a weird adjustment period to see a different jersey.
As a player, IGL or a coach, we as fans of rain and fans of Counter-Strike, will await our underrated GOAT's return in whatever shape or form we get it.
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Featured Image Credits: FaZe Clan
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