Roster Changes hit iBUYPOWER

Out of the blue, roster changes have hit the North American side of iBUYPOWER.

iBUYPOWER just came back from Europe where they surpassed everyones expecations in their best showings ever. At FACEIT LAN they made it all the way to the Grand Finals only to lose to arguably the world's best team, Fnatic 3-1. At ESWC 2014 they made it out of the groups in second place only to go out against Na`Vi 2-0 in the quarterfinals. iBUYPOWER seemed to be on top of the NA scene once again, but they must not have thought so.

iBUYPOWER have made some very big roster changes including getting rid of their in-game leader Sam "DaZeD" Marine and Joshua "steel" Nissan. iBUYPOWER have stated that Derek "desi" Branchen of eLevate will be a stand in for the upcoming Dreamhack Winter 2014. They also announced that they will bringing in Irukandji as a coach, which marks the first time a North American team has brought in a coach in. The team has still yet to state a reason for the roster changes.

iBUYPOWER's statement on the matters:

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In preparation for a busy upcoming CS:GO tournament season, which includes Dreamhack Winter, ESEA LAN and likely MLG X-Games, iBUYPOWER has decided to make a change in its starting roster. Longtime members Joshua "steel" Nissan and Sam "DaZeD" Marine have been released from the line-up.

After the team returned from Milan and Paris, the majority of the group felt it was best to look in a new direction in hopes of continuing iBUYPOWER's success in CS:GO.

iBUYPOWER is thankful for the time with Nissan and Marine, both who were an integral part of two ESEA LAN Championships, a second place finish at FACE-IT Milan, a CEVO-P Championship, among a number of other achievements.

The entire iBUYPOWER team wishes Nissan and Marine the best in their bright CS:GO futures.

The team has brought veteran Counter-Strike star Drew "irukandji" Timmerman on-board to serve as a coach. Irukandji offered the following comment about his new role:

"I'm really excited to work with the guys to see if we can improve upon the solid results they've had at recent international events. While coaching in CS is still a relatively unproven novelty, I am looking to contribute in as many ways as possible moving forward. ”

Derek "desi" Branchen had the following to say about the situation:

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After receiving the message from Braxton "swag" Pierce that the team would be needing a stand-in for DreamHack Winter, and that, the potential stand-in could be me, I was extremely excited. I've hoping to play against the top European talent for quite some time now, and I couldnt be more excited than to be doing it with such talented players in AZK,Skadoodle,swag. This will be my first time venturing out of the of the country, and to be given this opportunity through CS:GO is very rewarding. ”

Just as shocked as all of you are reading the news. Feeling pretty betrayed. Don't know what else to say really, at a loss for words.
— Sam M (@GODaZeD) November 6, 2014