Imperial close in on fnx's replacement

According to a report by Thúlio Bastos of GameArena.GG, Imperial are close to finalizing a deal to replace Lincoln "fnx" Lau with former 9z coach Rafael "zakk" Fernandes. Should the signing go through without any hiccups, it would be the second change to Imperial's lineup heading into the 2023 season as Fernando "fer" Alvarenga's replacement by Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian has been all but confirmed within the Imperial camp.

The departure of fnx from Imperial is understood to essentially be a done deal, with fnx jokingly stating on Twitter on December 26th that " I will not be a coach either here or in China lol", while also hinting that 2023 would see the two-time Major winner look to join a new organization. Overall, fnx looks to be confidently moving away from coaching, a role he appeared to be uncomfortable with and also largely unsuccessful in with the struggling Imperial lineup.

The choice of zakk as fnx's replacement, as such, seems to largely focus on bring someone in with a coaching pedigree more akin to Luis "peacemaker" Tadeu, Imperial's original coach. zakk has been one of Brazil's top coaches for more than five years, with stints on Immortals, Luminosity, and most recently 9z. zakk also has experience working with Ricardo "boltz" Prass and Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes on Immortals and Luminosity, respectively.

Imperial are expected to be:

• Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo

• Ricardo "boltz" Prass

• Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo

• Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes

• Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian

• Rafael "zakk" Fernandes (Coach)

Imperial are expected to announce these changes before they play the ESL Pro League Season 17 South American Conference qualifier on January 18th.