Three-time CSGO Major winner JW leaves Fnatic: “Excited for a new challenge”

Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell has announced that he has ended his almost eight-year spell with Fnatic, with his future now up in the air.

The Swedish player, Fnatic’s longest-serving CS:GO member, is leaving the organization to pursue opportunities elsewhere, three months after being benched as the team decided to get away from their Swedish roots and go international.

JW led Fnatic to multiple titles – including three Major crowns – during his long tenure with the organization. Apart from a brief six-month spell with GODSENT, the ‘Black and Orange’ are the only team that he has played for since August 2013.

“It feels super weird but somehow very motivating and fresh at the same time,” JW told Dexerto.

“Being in the same team for the past eight years, giving everything that I have, trying to find solutions in rounds, lineups, events, and whatnot has been great, but I would lie if I said that I’m not excited for a new challenge.”

Future Plans

JW was an integral part of Fnatic’s CS:GO success over the years, helping them to make history as the first CS:GO Major champion (DreamHack Winter 2013) and as the first team to win back-to-back Majors (ESL One Katowice 2015 and ESL One Cologne 2015).

Even if no longer in his prime, he remained a very effective player in the years that followed, but he hit a slump in form in 2020 as Fnatic struggled to adapt to the online era caused by the global health crisis.

The Swedish team signed Jack ‘Jackinho’ Ström Mattsson in January 2021 in a bid to turn things around, but results remained disappointing. In a recent interview with Richard Lewis, JW admitted that he struggled to get back to his old best and that his benching did not come as a surprise.

• Read more: Chinese CSGO sensation Starry could be forced to retire

Despite initially toying with the idea of switching to Valorant, JW has made it clear that he will remain in Counter-Strike to cement his legacy in the game.

“My future is not really clear at all, besides the fact that I will stay in CS,” he said. “I have decided that I don’t want to leave the game that I love and have played for so long.

“I really want to keep building on the legacy I have started. I’m looking to play again next year, so I would like to decide what to do around December/January.

“Until then I’ll just play mixes and qualifiers, and make sure to stay in touch with the game, rebuild myself, and recover my confidence for my next task.”