Media: story requests to be benched from FlyQuest

Earlier today, Portuguese news site RTP Arena reported that Portuguese AWPer João "story" Vieira had "requested to be moved to the FlyQuest bench." The report comes a couple of weeks following FlyQuest's 0-3 elimination from Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major.

If story were to be removed from the active lineup, it would be the second time an imported AWPer from Europe left the Australian team.

Though FlyQuest ended their season with a respectable run at the IEM Cologne Major, they had been entirely absent from other tier-one events during 2026's first season. Outside of a third-place finish at DraculaN Season 5, they spent the whole season playing local LANs in Asia with mixed results.

When story joined at the start of 2026, they were at #32 on the global VRS. They crashed all the way down to #84 before the Major helped them back to #52, where they are now. Still, they are well outside the range for consistent invites to tier-one events.

story's time on the team has had mixed success as he averaged a 1.10 rating, which sounds decent until you remember it's mostly against local ANZ opposition and only the fourth best on this team. As a player who previously only played in Portuguese teams like FTW and SAW, the transition to an Australian squad may have been too much.

With a local Australian LAN being their only scheduled event, FlyQuest may need to go back to the drawing board.