FaZe Clan benches broky amid competitive struggles, raising questions about esports org stability

FaZe Clan has pulled the trigger on one of its most recognizable Counter-Strike 2 players. Helvijs “broky” Saukants, a fixture on the FaZe roster since September 2019, has been benched following a string of disappointing tournament results that left the organization searching for answers.

The move ends a nearly six-year partnership between broky and FaZe, one of the longest-tenured player-org relationships in competitive CS2.

A rough 2025 tournament season

The benching didn’t come out of nowhere. FaZe’s 2025 competitive calendar has been, to put it charitably, a disaster.

The team failed to reach the playoffs at IEM Katowice, IEM Melbourne, and BLAST Open Lisbon. Three major events, three early exits.

The organization reportedly experimented with adding Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev into the lineup for events like IEM Dallas during the transition period.

The crypto elephant in the room

FaZe Clan and crypto have a complicated history. The organization previously partnered with MoonPay and was at the center of the infamous “Save the Kids” token controversy, a saga that saw several FaZe members promote a charity-branded token that promptly cratered in value.

What’s notable about the broky benching is what’s absent from the conversation: crypto. No token launches timed to roster announcements. No NFT drops commemorating the shakeup. No Web3 partnerships being touted alongside the competitive changes. Just a straightforward competitive decision about a player’s performance.

What this means for esports investors

Broky was benched and then returned to the starting lineup roughly two months later, rejoining on July 9, 2025. That kind of rapid cycling suggests the underlying issues may not have been fully resolved by the swap.

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