CS:GO News: Renegades announce Smooya to stand-in at Pro League, per Dekay

A report from Dexerto’s Jarek “Dekay” Lewis is reporting that Owen ‘smooya' Butterfield will stand in for Sean ‘Gratisfaction' Kaiwai at ESL Pro League Season 9.

Renegades has decided to have ex-BIG AWPer Owen “Smooya” Butterfield stand in for the team while Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai works out visa issues.

The move comes just three days before ESL Pro League Season 9 is set to start on April 12^th. Renegades will play eUnited in their Pro League opener at 12:00 AM EST on Friday, April 12^th.

Announcement: Roster changes for ESL Pro League Group Stage – https://t.co/HqY8Zxdt7o

— Renegades (@Renegades) April 9, 2019

Smooya's First Chance?

Smooya, the much-maligned British AWPer has been riding German esports organization BIG’s bench since February 1^st. Since then, Butterfield has been in contact with several teams, but no contracts or trials have materialized for the young player. Additionally, Smooya was banned from FaceIt FPL soon after his benching for telling another CS: GO professional player, Ismail “refrezh” Ali, to “kill himself.” BIG’s Head of Counterstrike, Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić, remarked that Smooya’s benching resulted in a difference in playstyles. That said, rumors of Butterfield’s difficult demeanor have swirled since the player’s entrance into the scene.

For their part, Renegades is coming off an impressive start to 2019. The team made it to the quarter-finals of the IEM Katowice Major. The Australians impressed many fans and analysts with their explosive yet measured play. Additionally, the North American organization made it to the semi-finals of StarSeries iLeague Season 7.

It is important to note that while Smooya may be playing for Renegades currently, this move officially locks him off from playing for any other competitors in ESL Pro League Season 9. When and if Gratisfaction returns after his visa issues, Renegades will most likely release Smooya.

With this move, Renegades current roster is as follows:

Aaron “AZR” Ward
Justin “jks” Savage
Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad
Jay “liazz” Tregillgas
Owen “Smooya” Butterfield (stand-in)
- Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai (inactive with Visa Issues)
Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović (Coach)