Fnx Is Reportedly Leaving Imperial

According to recent reports from Brazilian outlets, Lincoln “fnx” Lau is nearing the exit doors of Imperial. The Brazilian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran has yet to officially part ways with the team, but we can expect the announcement to come in the coming days.

According to recent reports, fnx is nearing the exit doors of the Imperial CS:GO team. The news came just six months after the 32-year-old joined the Brazilian esports organization, where he played alongside his old teammates from Luminosity Gaming and SK Gaming.

As revealed, Imperial is already looking for a replacement player; however, there are no news about which player the Brazilian squad will add to fill in fnx’s shoes. Although this is a huge roster move, some changes in Imperial were expected due to the team’s lack of success over the year.

The team, dubbed “Last Dance” – a reference to Netflix’s series about Michael Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls, started their journey with Imperial in February 2022 and enjoyed success early on. But the honeymoon phase didn’t last for long.

Imperial kicked off the year with a strong showing wt PGL Major Antwerp American RMR Open qualifiers, where they placed second and secured a spot in the American RMR. Later that month, Imperial also claimed a silver medal from FiReLEAGUE Latin Power Spring 2022 and added their first trophy at the end of March at OMEN WGR European Challenge 2022.

The Brazilian lineup’s strong form continued into April when Imperial finished PGL Major Antwerp 2022: American RMR in third place, qualifying for the Antwerp Major. At the end of April, Imperial produced another successful run through IEM Dallas South American qualifiers, but soon after, things turned sour.

Despite Imperial’s strong start to the year, the Brazilian squad started to struggle with their performances and have failed to produce much. At the PGL Major Antwerp, Imperial showed quality and even made it through the Challengers Stage.

By beating Team Liquid, IHC Esports, and forZe, Imperial made it to the Legends Stage, where they continued showing good results. They lost their opening two series against BIG and G2, got back on track with wins against Bad News Eagles and Cloud9, but got eliminated from the Major by Copenhagen Flames.

Since their relatively impressive run at the Major, Imperial achieved little to nothing. They first failed to qualify for ESL Challenger Valencia with a third-place finish in the NA Open qualifiers and have since attended five tournaments without any success.

In May, Imperial crashed out of IEM Dallas in 13th-16th place, adding three more iffy showings at Pinnacle Cup Championship, REPUBLEAGUE Season 3, and Roobet Cup, which they finished fifth-sixth and 13th-16th.
Most recently, Imperial attended IEM Cologne, where they failed to reach the group stage, losing against Outsiders and 00Nation.

By the start of July, when Imperial played their last match against 00Nation at IEM Cologne, they’re racked in only two victories over the last 13 outings. And despite their success early into the year, it was evident that the team would look to make changes during the summer break.

Although it was said that fnx will be leaving Imperial, it’s still unclear who the squad will add to replace the Brazilian CS:GO veteran.

The two-time Major champion has not achieved his former heights at Imperial and has been particularly disappointing over the last three months, averaging a 0.87 performance rating.

However, it’s not like fnx has been in top shape during his stint with the team. Since joining the lineup in February, fnx has averaged a 0.9 performance rating.