HAVU announce revamped roster

HAVU have announced on their official Twitter account the addition of four new members to round out the team, featuring both new and returning players to the Finnish squad. The move comes a few weeks after benching three members of their competitive roster and announcing a rebuild behind Jani “⁠Aerial⁠” Jussila and Sami “⁠xseveN⁠” Laasanen.

The newly-formed lineup will include Jesse “⁠zehN⁠” Linjala and Joonas “⁠doto⁠” Forss, who will be donning the HAVU jersey once again since their departures in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Along with the pair of returnees, the Finnish side also welcome Jarkko “⁠Spargo⁠” Rahja as the team’s new AWPer and Mikko “⁠xartE⁠” Välimaa as their head coach, who will be filling in the role vacated by Taneli “⁠disturbed⁠” Veikkola back in late June.

xartE will be seeking to lead his team to success

Veteran rifler zehN shared some comments about his role within the team, as well as praising his teammates ahead of his return to HAVU.

“I get to play in many maps the same roles that I played with international teams. In some maps, however, my roles have changed and it gives more power in terms of learning. The first trainings have gone well and I have enjoyed playing. Returning to Finnish CS has been refreshing and I’ve always wanted to play with aerial and xseven anyway. I believe that we have a great package to raise Finnish CS to a new level.”

Being the team’s youngest player, Spargo said that he was feeling good about the opportunity to play with new more experienced teammates and learn new things along with bringing his own contributions to the game. The 21-year-old also acknowledged that even though expectations are high for HAVU, he believes that they have the potential to reach the top.

Stepping into his new role as the team’s head coach, xartE expressed that the opportunity would allow him to develop both the players and his coaching style. “Good vibes! I get to work with new players and develop individuals and the team at the same time. I feel that this is also a great place to develop myself as a coach.”

HAVU‘s first challenge will come at local Finnish LAN tournament Assembly Summer 2022, which will feature teams such as ENCE Academy and William “⁠draken⁠” Sundin‘s Into the Breach.

HAVU‘s complete roster is as follows:

Jani “⁠Aerial⁠” Jussila
Sami “⁠xseveN⁠” Laasanen
Jarkko “⁠Spargo⁠” Rahja
Jesse “⁠zehN⁠” Linjala
Joonas “⁠doto⁠” Forss

Mikko “⁠xartE⁠” Välimaa (Coach)