Sources: BL1TZ and Ofnu to join Avant Gaming

With the IEM Katowice Closed Qualifier fast approaching to kick off the competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive season here in Australasia, Avant have made two changes to their starting roster. 

Last night saw changes to the teams ESEA Team Page made by the team, with Chris “ofnu” Hanley and Peter “BL1TZ” Athanasatos appearing on the roster - both of which played together on last years Chiefs lineup. 

With that being said, Chris “ofnu” Hanley will be reuniting once again with former teammate, Mike “ap0c” Aliferis; both players played together on Tainted Minds and Winterfox. Whilst Peter “BL1TZ” Athanasatos reunites with former Legacy Esports teammate, Euan “sterling” Moore. 

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Given these two changes, both Jay “soju_j” Jeong and Jireh “J1rah” Youakim will either move to the bench for the time being or otherwise move on to a new team. Currently they are not present on any other rosters that are public knowledge. 

Avant Roster:

• Mike “ap0c” Aliferis
• Chris “ofnu” Hanley
• Peter “BL1TZ” Athanasatos
• Euan “sterling” Moore
• Jared “HaZR” O’Bree

Chris “ofnu” Hanley has a storied history in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene here in Australasia, with a competitive background in the title dating back to 2015 - where he played with the likes of Azad “topguN” Orami and Luke “Havoc” Paton under the Legacy Esports banner at the DreamHack Malmo 2016 Closed Qualifier. 

Although with that being said, ofnu was also a product of the Winterfox project from August 2016 to April 2017. Following his stint with Winterfox, he moved on to Tainted Minds. Ofnu remained with Tainted Minds for another two years, where he played a total of 356 maps under their banner. Tainted Minds was then brought by ICON Esports, which then acquired The Chiefs Esports Club; ultimately starting his most recent stint with The Chiefs. 

Peter “BL1TZ” Athanasatos is a product of the newer generation of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, having only kick-started his tier one competitive career with Funky Monkeys at the end of 2016 - although much like ofnu, he is 26 years of age. 

BL1TZ began to make a name for himself under the Legacy Esports banner in 2018, where he helped push the roster to a top five placement in the region; helping gate keep that rank for the nine months that he competed under their banner. BL1TZ announced his departure from the team in November of 2018 and went on to join The Chiefs Esports Club officially in January of last year. 

It’s currently unknown as to what changes The Chiefs will make to their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, given that Tyler “tucks” Reilly, Matthew “Texta” O’Rourke and Ryan “zewsy” Palmer still remain on the active roster. They still hold a spot in the ESEA MDL, so changes or otherwise an announcement will be expected to be made very soon.

Avant begin their season this year on January 15th, where they look to compete in the IEM Katowice Closed Qualifier, with hopes of qualifying for IEM Katowice. We will expect to see both players competing under their banner come next Wednesday. 

If you wish to stay connected with the progress of this roster change, be sure to follow us on social media. 

Credits:

• Written by Alex Cascio