ATK star rifler on the hunt for new squad
Shortly after the conclusion of ESL Challenger League Season 44, where MIBR took down ATK 3-0 in the grand finals, ATK rifler Michael "Swisher" Schmid announced that he would be exploring other options both domestically and in Europe. Swisher further elaborated that he would be continuing to play for ATK in the immediate future as he weighed his options.
Swisher's decision to pursue other options comes after a mixed period for ATK, but a strong one in regards to his individual form. ATK's most notable slip-up in 2023 so far was narrowly missing out on the BLAST.tv Paris Major Americas RMR, with the squad falling 2-3 after losses to Strife, Detonate, and Nouns. Despite his team's unfortunate overall result, Swisher led the way for ATK in regards to rating, posting an average of 1.17 across the event.
Swisher's form hardly slowed down when ATK ventured to Malta to compete against top squads at ESL Pro League Season 17. Although ATK were unable to foster a deep run in the event, the squad kept things close in their games against ENCE and Astralis, powered by Swisher's 1.09 average rating across the event.
Upon returning from their Pro League campaign, Swisher and co. dived headfirst into ECL Season 44 playoffs, where the American once again proved a critical piece for his team, averaging 1.14, 1.27, and 1.58 series ratings in their wins against Strife and EG Black. Despite falling short in the finals, Swisher stated that he was pleased with the result, citing Jonathan "b0denmaster" Bodenmalm's high ping, the use of Ethan "reck" Serrano as a stand-in, and cases of illness among two players.
Should Swisher depart ATK, the squad would be:
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Gareth "MisteM" Ries -
Jonathan "b0denmaster" Bodenmalm -
Jonathan "djay" Dallal -
Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan (Coach)
Swisher's next venture will be in the ESL Challenger Melbourne North America Closed Qualifier, set to begin later today, where ATK will be facing off against Vendetta, Strife, and EG Black for a spot in the event down under.
