Strife and European coach part ways

Following the announcements from both parties on Twitter, coach Anton "ToH1o" Georgiev and North American organization Strife will not be continuing to work together ahead of ESL Challenger League Season 42. This marks the end of ToH1o's three-month tenure with Strife, which began in late April when the org signed him alongside Kristjan "fejtZ" Allsaar.

ToH1o originally linked up with Strife in late April, shortly after the conclusion of ECL Season 40. Strife had a strong start to 2022 prior to ToH1o entering the lineup, as Strife won Fragadelphia 16 and landed a respectable fourth-place finish in ECL Season 40 with veteran German coach Christian "crisby" Schmitt behind the squad. After ECL Season 40 concluded, crisby returned to Europe to coach OG's new academy squad, opening up a spot for ToH1o on Strife.

Strife looked to be a force to be reckoned with in ECL Season 41, losing only one match to Party Astronauts to post a 6-1 regular season record, later modified to a 7-0 record following Party Astronauts being acquired by Evil Geniuses. Unfortunately, Strife could not maintain this momentum in the playoffs, as the squad narrowly fell to Gaimin Gladiators and BHOP to find themselves with a 7-8th finish, a far cry from what the squad's impressive regular-season showing suggested they could attain.

Strife also got the chance to compete internationally during ToH1o's tenure, qualifying for the EPL Season 16 conference thanks to their fourth-place finish in ECL Season 40. Ultimately, the American side was unable to make a deep run in this event, with losses to TYLOO and cowana sending Strife packing early on in the event.

With ToH1o's departure, Strife are now:

• Keller "SLIGHT" Nilan

• David "J0LZ" Jolin

• Kristjan "fejtZ" Allsaar

• Ethan "reck" Serrano

With ToH1o's departure Strife now have an additional piece to fill in the squad, with the team also still needing to find a replacement for Bobby "stamina" Eitrem, who as of today, has completed his contract with Strife and is officially a free agent. Strife have until the beginning of ECL Season 42 to find replacements, with the league set to start soon on August 16th.