FaZe Clan Bench EliGE; Bring in jcobbb

After a struggle that lasted over 7 months, FaZe Clan have decided to bench the North American Counter-Strike star Jonathan "EliGE” Jablonowski.

Despite the ambitious nature of the move, it did not yield the expected results, resulting in an unceremonious exit for the NA legend.

As a replacement, they have brought in Polish Betclic Apogee rifler Jakub "jcobbb" Pietruszewski.

A Match Made in Hell!?

After ropz's departure left a gaping hole in the FaZe roster, they brought in a deft pair of hands holding a rifle in EliGE. While the two did not share a role, the NA giant’s reputation and dexterity matched ropz's skills, leading many to believe the move would work out.

Unfortunately, the following six months were poor. FaZe had repeated disastrous showings and only barely held on as a Tier 1 team.

In the 11 tournaments the team attended, they placed top 4 twice, often failing to qualify for the Playoffs or losing in the Quarterfinals. Even the two top 4 finishes came at tournaments where Vitality & Spirit were missing.

Their best performance was at the Austin Major, where they managed to clinch the Playoffs and defeated multiple strong teams, but they lost terribly to the MongolZ in the Quarterfinals.

The last three tournaments have been especially horrible. They missed Cologne Playoffs after losing to Natus Vincere, followed by a BLAST Bounty Fall Play-ins loss to Virtus.pro, and an opening EWC CS loss to Aurora Gaming.

These results are far from ideal for both EliGE and FaZe, and the decision to move away from the union will likely benefit both parties.

What Went Wrong?

In hindsight, EliGE was probably a poor match for FaZe, especially considering he shares his role and multiple playing positions with rain. On top of that, the team never seemed to get going.

The lack of synergy in-game—despite the positive atmosphere out of game—screamed a playstyle mismatch. We do not know the inner workings of the FaZe team, but they clearly failed to play up to their standard, and something had to change.

jcobbb Joins In

As a replacement, FaZe Clan have invested in a youngster: jcobbb, the Polish rifler who plays for Betclic Apogee and is a 9INE alumni. With only two years of experience, jcobbb is just the second “rookie” the team have taken a chance on, the previous being broky.

On paper, the move aims to bring young, explosive firepower to the squad, complementing the heavy veteran presence. Only time will tell how the move works out, but there will be an adjustment period before we see how the team plays.

The new member debuts at the BLAST Open Fall 2025 Qualifiers, where they face ECSTATIC. This will hopefully help FaZe transition smoothly and prepare them for the second half of the year.

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Featured Image Credit: PGL

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