Patrick “es3tag” Hansen will serve as a stand-in for Faze Clan’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team in the 2023 BLAST Premier Spring groups in Copenhagen, Denmark.
FaZe announced the decision over social media on Thursday, one day before they begin the tournament against Complexity in the opening round of Group B.
“The stand-in buff is back,” FaZe Clan wrote on Twitter.
The stand-in buff is back ??
Please welcome @es3tag to our roster for BLAST Premier Spring Groups. #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/8CrE5HNrli
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) January 19, 2023
FaZe initially planned to have former Astralis player Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke serve as the replacement for Havard “rain” Nygaard, but BLAST deemed that he was listed as Heroic’s substitute for the tournament.
FaZe were in search for a stand-in for rain because he is on paternity leave expecting the birth of his first child.
BLAST offered the following statement on Thursday:
“FaZe requested the use of k0nfig, this request was denied as the player was registered on another team’s roster for the event. In that process there has been confusion around whether this subsequent emergency substitution request was formally accepted and validated by BLAST.”
“After looking into the incident internally, we identified miscommunication and a lack in clarity from BLAST on roster lock timings and k0nfig’s eligibility to play in Spring Groups.”
Update: BLAST Premier Spring Groups. pic.twitter.com/BY30K32N1f
— BLAST Premier ?? (@BLASTPremier) January 19, 2023
es3tag currently resides on the bench in Ninjas in Pyjamas, who are also participating in BLAST Premier Spring Groups.
BLAST has said that es3tag will not be allowed to compete should FaZe meet Ninjas in Pyjamas later in the tournament.
Faze coach Robert “RobbaN” Dahlstrom is not attending the event “due to a personal matter.”
FaZe’s roster consists of Latvia’s Helvijs “broky” Saukants, Canadian Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, Denmark natives Finn “karrigan” Andersen and es3tag and Estonia’s Robin “ropz” Kool.
–Field Level Media
