CSGO: AdreN joins FaZe, YNk will be the team’s new coach

FaZe announced it had signed Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev to complete the squad. Meanwhile, Janko “YNk” Paunović will be the team’s new coach.

AdreN has been a free agent since Gambit released his contract. The 28-year-old has signed a short-term contract with FaZe until the end of the IEM Katowice Major, which kicks off on February 13.

He will replace Finn “karrigan” Andersen, who was previously substituted and played on loan for team EnVy.

OFFICIAL: @AdreNcs will stand-in as FaZe CS:GO’s 5th player through the Major, & @YNk has signed on to coach the team ✍️

Our first games with the new-look lineup will take place at the iBUYPOWER Masters in Los Angeles, California from January 19th-20th.

Welcome! #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/k3wW2cwq3y

— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) January 6, 2019

This will be the first challenge of AdreN’s career with a non-CIS team. He first attracted attention in the Counter-Strike arena when he led team k23 to a runner-up in WCG 2005. ArdeN competed for the likes of Virtus.pro, Astana Dragons and HellRaisers before joining Gambit – team that helped him win the PGL Major Krakow.

YNk will take the place of Robert’s coach “RobbaN” Dahlström – RobbaN left his position as FaZe coach last Saturday after almost three years with the organization. This will be YNk’s second coaching challenge. Before that, he coached MIBR from August to December – helping the team win the ZOTAC Cup Masters and reach the finals of two major events: BLAST Pro Series Istanbul and ECS Season 6 Finals.

FaZe’s new lineup will make its debut at the iBuyPOWER Masters, which will take place January 19-20 in Los Angeles. Due to being in the top 8 of the FACEIT Major, FaZe will be exempted from IEM Katowice’s New Challengers Stage. The team only started competing at the New Legend Stage, which took place from February 21 to 24.

With the above changes, FaZe’s lineup is as follows:

Nikola “Niko” Kovač
Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer
Håvard “rain” Nygaard
Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovacs
Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev (stand-in in the Major)

Janko “YNk” Paunovic (coach)