Fnatic have announced major changes to its Apex Legends lineup for next season following an overall great year from its team.
Fnatic announced major changes to its Apex Legends roster following the team’s 26th-place finish at the 2023 ALGS Championship. The Japanese side placed first across both splits of the 2023 APAC North Pro League and finished in the top 10 at both Split 1 and Split 2 playoff LAN tournaments, but failed to lift a major trophy this season.
On September 25, Fnatic revealed that it has benched Takamasa ‘Meltstera’ Kawai, Yuto ‘UmichanLoveti’ Narita, and coach Hiroki ‘Kamaneko’ Kimoto while the organization looks for their replacements. The players and coach are still under contract with Fnatic, however, they are able to look for opportunities with other teams.
ALGS Year3の終わりと共に、 @Meltstera 、 @UmichanLoveti 、そして @hironeko に契約を残した状態で、新たなチームへの移籍を許可することを決定しました。@Meltstera と @hironeko はこの1年、チームの欠かせない要として活躍してくれました。@UmichanLoveti… pic.twitter.com/lI8gU9kdDH
— FNATIC JAPAN (@FNATIC_JP) September 25, 2023
“When one story ends, a new one begins. We have become even stronger, and we hope to see you in ALGS Year 4,” Fnatic said in the announcement via a machine translation.
Fnatic is making major changes to its Apex Legends lineup
Both Kamaneko and Meltstera joined Fnatic when the organization returned to Apex Legends in 2022. The European esports org initially hopped into the Battle Royale circuit in 2019 with two teams, one in Europe and one in North America.
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That project was shelved in 2020, almost one year to the day after it was started, and Fnatic eventually returned a few years later with a Japanese squad. That initial lineup, with Kamaneko and Melstera, managed to place fourth at the 2022 ALGS Championship and showed incredible promise.
However, that team quickly fell apart as one of the founding members, Keita ‘MatsuTasu’ Matsuura, announced in early 2023 that he was open to playing for other teams. Fnatic loaned the player out and eventually dropped him from the team, and then brought in Yuto ‘UmichanLoveti’ Narita as his replacement.
The Apex Legends off-season is currently in full swing so Fnatic have plenty of time and space to find new players and a head coach for its ALGS Year 4 campaign.