Northern Forces parted ways with ECL roster

Sebastian "Florence" O., the team's AWPer was the one breaking the news on Twitter, 30 minutes before the start of the IEM Road to Rio North America open qualifier 3.

The former Northern Forces squad, now named Phantom Troupe, has a spot in ESL Challenger League Season 42 North America after having played through relegation the season prior. Additionally, the team already has a spot granted in Fragadelphia 17.

The roster's debut under the new name came at the ESL Challenger at DreamHack Rotterdam open qualifier, where the team beat Strife after three overtimes on Overpass. Phantom Troupe will face oNe in the semi-final today, with hopes of reaching the closed qualifier for the Rotterdam competition.

The roster was with the Northern Forces organization since May 2022, after Kinship released it. During this stint, the team played the ESEA Advanced Season 41, qualifying for the ESL Challenger League Season 42 after finishing 5th-6th in Relegation. The roster also finished 9th-16th in all three open qualifiers for the IEM Road to Rio Americas RMR.

With Fragadelphia right around the corner, the players are hopeful of finding a new organization to help them organize for it.

The Phantom Troupe squad is:

• Matthew "Cryptic" Whitmore

• Sebastian "Florence" O.

• Adam "freshie" Paterson

• John "JTMythic" Timmerman

• Benjamin "niise" Mauldin

• David "Dave" Tereshin (Coach)