Strife begin sweeping overhaul

Strife have started off their post-season overhaul with a bang, dismissing AWPer and IGL Keller "SLIGHT" Nilan alongside rifler Matthew "D4rtyMontana" Paplawskas. The unexpected changes to the Canadian organization's lineup come after an underwhelming period for Strife that saw the team lag behind their domestic rivals.

Strife's recent history began with the dismissal and departure of Bobby "stamina" Eitrem prior to the start of ESL Challenger League Season 42. With that change, SLIGHT took over as IGL while Kristjan "fejtZ" Allsaar also left the team. D4rtyMontana and Jordon "jitter" Ruggiero were added to the team to fill the two vacancies.

While this change was likely made to bring more firepower to the squad with a number of promising young players and a looser style under SLIGHT as IGL, the team struggled to maintain its position in the NA scene as a top squad. Strife failed to top the ESL Challenger Rotterdam qualifiers with losses to Phantom Troupe and BHOP.

In ESL Challenger League Season 42, Strife narrowly avoided relegation with a 3-4 record due to a week five win over BHOP. During the regular season, SLIGHT performed well with a 1.05 rating over 17 maps while D4rtyMontana struggled by posting a team-worst 0.94 rating over 17 maps.

Additionally, Strife have been spotted playing with Ryan "Snakes" Amann in both SLIGHT and D4rtyMontana's spots in recent qualifiers.

Dust2.us attempted to reach out to Strife and its players for comment on the changes. Strife declined to comment while its players did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Strife's roster is now:

• David "J0LZ" Jolin

• Ethan "reck" Serrano

• Jordon "jitter" Ruggiero

• Calvin "becker" Becker (Coach)

The squad of course have the whole off-season to figure out their new roster, with ECL S43 not starting until late October.