Look Sports Media – Spanish Counter-Strike 2 team Iberian Soul will be making waves at EPIC.LAN 45, with the addition of UK Counter-Strike star and streamer Owen "smooya" Butterfield to their roster. The Spanish core, comprising Alejandro "mopoz" Fernández-Quejo, David "dav1g" Granado, Pere "sausol" Solsona, and Alejandro "alex" Masanet, will be completing the lineup for this highly anticipated tournament. This marks a significant comeback for smooya at the Kettering-based event, his last appearance being at EPIC.LAN 41 in February 2024, an event which ended with a fine for misconduct. looksports.media understands that smooya also served a previous, now-expired, informal ban from the event for separate misconduct.
This will be the first time Iberian Soul competes under a banner since their departure from KOI in January. However, the team’s future looks bright, as Sheep Esports reports that the roster will soon be acquired by French esports organization Gentle Mates. The only player not continuing with the team is Portuguese in-game-leader Renato "stadodo" Gonçalves; smooya’s participation will be limited to this tournament. Adding to the intrigue, Spanish AWPer Antonio "Martinez" Martinez is expected to join from Argentinian organization 9z, completing the Gentle Mates’ all-Spanish CS2 roster.
This strategic move by Gentle Mates is particularly interesting, given the historical rivalry between France and Spain in the CS2 scene. While Iberian Soul hasn’t qualified for any S-tier tournaments this year (missing PGL Bucharest, PGL Astana, and IEM Dallas), this collaboration with a team boasting former Call of Duty pros and prominent content creators like Corentin "Gotaga" Houssein, Kevin "Brawks" Georges, and Lucas "Squeezie" Hauchard (co-founders of Gentle Mates and instrumental in the founding of Team Vitality) could be a game-changer. The gamble on an all-Spanish roster, especially considering Gentle Mates’ first foray into Counter-Strike, adds a layer of excitement to their EPIC.LAN 45 debut. The team will face stiff competition from international teams including Alliance, Estatic, Inner Circle, Preasy, and Wild Lotus. This is a tournament to watch, with high stakes and unexpected alliances shaping the competitive landscape.
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