Imperial in talks to replace fer with JOTA – Report

The MIBR player has been chosen as the 31-year-old’s replacement, with the negotiations already at an “advanced stage.”

Imperial are interested in MIBR player Jhonatan “⁠JOTA⁠” Willian to replace outgoing Fernando “⁠fer⁠” Alvarenga, according to a report from Dust2.com.br.

The report adds further fuel to fer‘s retirement rumors, with the veteran rifler talking about looking to step down from the roster ahead of the IEM Rio RMR in an interview with HLTV.org in October. It is not known whether fer will put an end to his career or only take a break, but he is expected to step down from the Imperial roster in the new year.

Two-time Major winner fer has been with Imperial since the start of 2022 when the “Last Dance” project came together and reunited three members of the legendary SK and Luminosity teams.

fer has been Imperial‘s highest-rated player and helped them qualify for both 2022 Majors, as they first reached the Legends Stage in Antwerp before fulfilling their dreams of attending their home Major in Rio, where they exited in the Challengers Stage. Gabriel “⁠FalleN⁠” Toledo is now set to be the only remaining member of the legendary roster on Imperial, as both fer and Lincoln “⁠fnx⁠” Lau have been removed from the active lineup.

JOTA is currently contracted to MIBR and has represented the organization since October 2021. He has shown impressive individual form during 2022, putting up the team’s second-highest average rating of 1.18 while also fulfilling the IGL role since the middle of the year.

With the change, Imperial would be:

Gabriel “⁠FalleN⁠” Toledo
Ricardo “⁠boltz⁠” Prass
Marcelo “⁠chelo⁠” Cespedes
Vinicius “⁠VINI⁠” Figueiredo
Jhonatan “⁠JOTA⁠” Willian

Lincoln “⁠fnx⁠” Lau (coach)