After suffering the worst split in the organization’s history, Fnatic might be looking for the reset button on their 2023 League of Legends campaign.
The team is reportedly parting ways with rookie support Rúben “Rhuckz” Barbosa, along with head coach Gonçalo “Crusher” Brandão, according to Blix’s Alejandro Gomis and Marián Stoica. The two could be joining top laner Wunder on the last train home, because the veteran LEC star is also reportedly on the way out.
At the end of last year, Rhuckz was brought up to replace Fnatic’s long-time star support Hylissang, but was never able to get his footing due to the various issues the League team dealt with throughout this regular season.
The 26-year-old never had the chance to prove himself or improve, since Fnatic was immediately sent home after the regular season. During that nine-game stretch, Rhuckz had the third-lowest KDA of any LEC support, according to League stats site Oracle’s Elixir.
Rhuckz’s replacement is still being considered, but one name reportedly being considered is Fnatic’s current Academy team starting support Henk “Advienne” Reijenga. The 25-year-old last competed in the LEC with Excel Esports, but he only spent nine months with the League org’s top squad before being replaced.
Related: Fnatic is reportedly replacing Wunder on starting LEC roster
Crusher, on the other hand, failed to guide this star-studded roster to victory. With so many veteran players, fans and analysts expected Fnatic to break into groups at least, but according to team director Dardo, the team was “completely dysfunctional” by the end of the split, and they weren’t able to build any chemistry together over the course of three weeks.
