Pimp: FaZe Should Have Played the Budapest Major With rain Before Starting a Rebuild

Pimp: FaZe Should Have Played the Budapest Major With rain Before Starting a Rebuild

CS2 analyst Jacob “Pimp” Winneche has criticized FaZe Clan’s recent roster moves following their early exit from IEM Chengdu 2025, arguing that the team should have entered the upcoming StarLadder Budapest Major with Håvard “rain” Nygaard before considering any major rebuild.

“FaZe should go to the Major with rain”

Speaking after FaZe’s 1–2 loss to Virtus.pro in the lower bracket of Group B at IEM Chengdu 2025 — a result that saw them finish 13–16th — Pimp highlighted the team’s downward trend and questioned the timing of their roster changes.

According to him, FaZe’s results have steadily worsened since the start of the year:

IEM Chengdu 2025 — 13–16th

BLAST London Open — 5–6th

FISSURE Playground — 9–11th

ESL Pro League — 4th (with rain in the lineup)

CS2 Asia Championship 2025 — 7–8th

Pimp emphasized that the team’s new Polish rifler Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski should not be blamed for the recent slump, pointing instead to deeper structural issues. He stated that the organization mishandled the process, calling the mid-season decision to bench rain, especially right after Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski’s departure, “the wrong move.”

How FaZe fell in Chengdu

At IEM Chengdu, FaZe lost their opening match 0–2 to MOUZ and then fell 1–2 to Virtus.pro in the elimination match (13–8 Overpass for FaZe, 5–13 Mirage and 7–13 Inferno for VP). The loss sent Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s team home in last place with $4,000 in prize money.

For Virtus.pro, led by Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy, the win kept their tournament hopes alive.

The early elimination came only weeks after another disappointing finish at the CS2 Asia Championships 2025, where FaZe placed 7–8th.

Twistzz: “Chengdu is the real test for us”

After the Asia Championships, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken admitted on X that the team was “disappointed to say the least” but noted that “Chengdu is the real test for us.”

That test, however, ended in another early exit, reinforcing Pimp’s argument that FaZe’s problems go far beyond one roster change.

Roster chaos: From EliGE to jcobbb, from rain to Twistzz

Pimp’s comments come during one of the most turbulent years in FaZe Clan’s history.

At the start of 2025, FaZe rebuilt around EliGE, who joined from Complexity to replace Robin “ropz” Kool. The team reached several playoffs — including a third-place finish at PGL Bucharest and a top-8 at the BLAST.tv Austin Major — but failed to secure a single title.

On August 22, FaZe benched EliGE and signed 21-year-old jcobbb from Betclic Apogee. Later, karrigan admitted that “nobody was happy… sometimes players don’t mix,” suggesting EliGE’s playstyle didn’t fit the team’s system.

Analysts described jcobbb as an aggressive, team-oriented entry rifler rather than a superstar, explaining Pimp’s defense of him.

Rain benched, Twistzz returns

At the end of September, FaZe benched long-time member Håvard “rain” Nygaard — the organization’s longest-serving player — and announced the return of Twistzz, who had previously won a Major, IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, and the Intel Grand Slam with FaZe before leaving for Team Liquid in 2023.

The move was presented as a roster refresh, but soon after, ESL Pro League rules forced FaZe to temporarily reinstate rain for Season 22, benching jcobbb instead. The team confirmed that rain would return for EPL, but jcobbb would rejoin for subsequent events, including the CS2 Asia Championships.

This revolving-door roster situation — alternating between rain and jcobbb — is exactly what Pimp called destabilizing and poorly timed ahead of the Budapest Major.

Rain’s side of the story

Rain later spoke about his situation, saying that while returning for one last tournament felt “nice,” it was “not my future.” He explained that his priorities “can’t only be on FaZe” and that he is thinking about his long-term career.

He also clarified on HLTV Confirmed that he does not plan to retire and is considering his next steps in professional Counter-Strike.

Pimp’s call to keep rain through the Major, therefore, was not just nostalgic — he believes rain’s presence could bring stability to the lineup in the short term.

What it means heading into the Budapest Major

The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 — the final CS2 Major of the year — will take place from November 24 to December 14, featuring 32 teams at MTK Sportpark and the MVM Dome in Budapest.

FaZe’s current lineup turmoil has put the team under growing scrutiny. Within a single year, the roster has cycled through EliGE, jcobbb, rain, and Twistzz, with results trending downward despite the star-studded lineup.

Both karrigan and rain have acknowledged the difficulties of the 2025 season and the need for long-term planning.

From Pimp’s perspective, FaZe should have finished the year with rain at the Major and only then begun a full rebuild — a calmer and more logical approach than reshuffling the roster just weeks before two key events.