Keita joins Fnatic CS:GO Pro Team

As our transformation of CS:GO continues, today we are proud to announce the appointment of Jamie "keita" Hall as CS:GO Strategic Coach. Jamie brings with him ten years of professional experience to help propel Fnatic CS:GO into the future.

Tasked primarily with in-game performance, Jamie’s introduction to the coaching team allows CS:GO Head Coach Andreas Samuelsson to truly spur change within our CS:GO rosters. Andreas will be supporting and developing both CS:GO teams, taking a holistic approach across physical and mental wellbeing, personal and professional development and driving performance as the Leader of Fnatic Counter-Strike.

Here Andreas explains this exciting new move with our new international roster and gives further insight into the future of Fnatic CS:GO

Once we had elected that the best course of action to rebuild the CS:GO team would be to adopt an international roster, the natural next step following the selection of players was to also assess the management structure. Throughout this complete overhaul of the team, we wanted to ensure that we did our due diligence, and put Fnatic back on track to the path of success.

Step one was the relaunch of the academy team, step two involved internationalisation of the main team and the expansion of the management. Next, we needed to obtain a new coach that would complement this new Fnatic and help drive it forward to our new goal.

Locating and appointing a new CS coach was not an easy task, many options were considered and assessed during this time of flux. However, when we identified that Jamie had suddenly become a free agent, we felt that he could potentially be that person to fill the role and subsequently approached him about the opportunity.

Following several interviews with him, it quickly became clear that he may indeed be the missing piece to the puzzle that we were looking for. The immediate impression we gathered from him was not only impressive coaching abilities but furthermore his passion and dedication for the role itself. He displayed a brilliant mind when referring to his new strategies, setups and utility usage in-game. Additionally, he exhibited very impressive interpersonal communication skills, which will be paramount within this new team in establishing good relationships between both players and the management team, a trait which I highly value within esports.

With Jamie joining as our new strategic mastermind and his responsibility directed towards our in-game performance, I will be responsible for the Fnatic CSGO division and move to a more managerial role. This will mean I’ll be responsible for managing a number of aspects of the team, including but not limited to, the holistic structure, staffing, and new development within the team. It will be my responsibility to ensure as a team, we always stay on top, evaluate day-to-day work, oversee the development of our academy team, always be scouting and identifying new talent, whilst also maintaining daily contact with all the players currently associated with Fnatic.

This will allow me to create an environment that allows both Jamie and Alex to only focus on our in-game performance, whether that be during practice where I can provide extra team observations, but also around the game itself.

My new position will allow me to assess an individual player's behavior and accommodate their personal development in-game and in real life. Whether that support is needed within a physical or mental capacity, it will be my responsibility to ensure that Fnatic has a structure in place that can facilitate the correct processes to resolve any issues that arise. We want to be able to create a platform that allows for a player to not just improve their in-game skills or strategies, but also their mental and physical wellbeing. We will achieve this by establishing individual goals for each player that will be designed to assist them with their mental and physical training. All of which will be supported in conjunction by data and processes provided by our amazing staff within the Fnatic High Performance Unit . Together between the CS team management and the Fnatic HPU of Jens and Brad, we are aiming to build something that will truly return Fnatic to the top. Overall leading to the perfect balance between tournaments, practice, hard work, and recovery which is key in our structure.

It has been a very exciting time in the camp over the last few weeks, and we can't wait to show more of it throughout this coming autumn.

Welcome Keita to the Black and Orange