CRUC1AL to stand in for M8s at Stake Ranked Episode 3

Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel will fill the open spot on Gentle Mates’ roster for Stake Ranked Episode 3 in Barcelona after Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez moved to HEROIC on July 7. The event runs from July 15-18.

CRUC1AL, 29, has been without a permanent team since leaving Nemesis earlier this year. He has played two official matches in the past six months, including a short stand-in appearance for illwill at CCT Europe Series 4. His most recent LAN outing came in November at XZONE Masters Season 1. Earlier in his career he reached the quarter-finals at the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

Gentle Mates confirmed CRUC1AL will join the squad as a stand-in for the Barcelona event. The team is scheduled to play Wildcard on July 15 at 15:00 local time, which will mark his return to offline competition with the organisation.

The Gentle Mates lineup for Stake Ranked Episode 3 lists Alejandro “alex” Masanet, David “dav1g” Granado Bermudo, Alejandro “mopoz” Fernández-Quejo Cano, Pere “sausol” Solsona Saumell and Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel as the stand-in. Angel “repk3ys” Gracia Navarro is the coach.

Gentle Mates are also entered in the online stage of BLAST Bounty Season 2, scheduled from July 21-26, but the organisation has not confirmed which roster it will use for that event.

The club has been reported to be negotiating an exit from Counter-Strike. Before MartinezSa’s transfer, Sebastien “KRL” Perez named Heretics, KOI and GiantX as potential destinations for the roster.