FaZe announce academy program as roster speculation continues
Amidst rumors of roster changes to their Counter-Strike team, FaZe have announced FaZe Up Next, an "academy program" aimed at developing up-and-coming esports players.
It's unclear whether FaZe Up Next will field a CS2 roster, similar to MOUZ NXT, Young Ninjas, and many other European academy teams. The most successful pipeline in recent history has to be that of NAVI Junior, which has yielded two current NAVI main-team players and the majority of FUT's PGL Bucharest-winning roster.
In light of reports that Finn "karrigan" Andersen will be leaving FaZe for Falcons, FaZe co-owner and manager Kaysan "Kaysan" Ghasseminejad has reiterated the company's commitment to Counter-Strike. While streaming, he shared, "Our Counterstrike team is our baby in esports, that is the backbone." In response to suppositions that FaZe lack the financial backing to create a winning roster, he says, "I don't know what this narrative is, we're not broke. But you just can't compare us to Falcons," referring to Falcons' infamously deep pockets.
