ATK enter free agency; core look to stay together
ATK's short-term contracts with their lineup have expired today, with the team entering free agency as talks have failed to manifest long term contracts with the South African organization. While negotiations are still ongoing with ATK, Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan, the team's head coach, told Dust2.us that the core are currently fielding offers from other organizations interested in signing the team.
Notably, however, ex-ATK will not be continuing on with Swedish-American AWPer, Adam "WolfY" Andersson, as they desire to find a player who will better fit their needs and playstyle heading into the fall season. Additionally, while there is an express desire to stick together, the former lineup ATK are also pursuing individual offers amidst a climate of uncertainty in the NA scene.
The failure of ATK to secure new contracts with their lineup comes even after the squad have secured back-to-back appearances at ESL Pro League, and are set to attend Season 18 in September. Likewise, with Liquid decamping to Europe, ATK are currently in a prime position to fight for a top spot in North America, with the team trading series with the likes of Nouns and EG on a regular basis.
While there is some degree of confidence on the part of ATK's owner, Warren "Flea" Barkhuizen, that a deal with the team could be agreed upon in the near future, he has previously been the source of criticism for his handling of contract negotiations with the team.
The ex-ATK members looking to stick together are at the moment:
-
Gareth "MisteM" Ries -
Michael "Swisher" Schmid -
Ethan "reck" Serrano
-
Jonathan "Jonji" Carey -
Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan (Coach)
With the summer player-break set to end on July 10th, only time will tell if ex-ATK will be seen competing together ever again.
