Tempest bench Gurtzz

Julien "Gurtzz" Grotegut has been benched from Tempest's starting lineup according to the 18-year-old's Twitter. The news comes in spite of the side's solid start to their ESEA Advanced Season 40 campaign where the team currently sport a 5-2 record.

Gurtzz had been with the roster for the best part of five months, linking up with the squad back in October while it still played under the YeniCherry banner. During his time with the Turkish-majority side, Gurtzz averaged a 0.96 rating over thirteen maps whilst also helping the team put up a strong showing in ESEA Advanced Season 39, where they secured a 7th-8th place finish after losing 2-0 to Brazen in the third round of playoffs.

Outside of league play, the roster were able to enjoy some success shortly after Gurtzz's addition, notably netting a fourth place finish at Fragadelphia 16: The Block back in November. Despite this, momentum waned in recent times, and the side failed to make it out of groups at Fragadelphia 16: Chicago - albeit with two stand-ins - while also bowing out early in the majority of their recent ESEA Cash Cup appearances.

For now, Tempest have:

• Kaan "KaKi" Bolukbas

• Ihsan "G3DITOR" Yigit

• Michael "Brashi" Chadwick

• Nicolas "C0C0" Nassoura

• Suleyman "NForc3R" Savci (Tactical Coach)

• Mare "iNfusioN3" R. (Performance Coach)

Tempest will need to find a replacement for Gurtzz in short order as they are scheduled to face off against New Threat in a couple days' time on February 28th at 10:00PM.