Why TaZ is replacing m0NESY at BLAST Spring Finals

G2 are likely confused why coach Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas is in the server at BLAST Spring Finals instead of star AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.

After a shock championship at IEM Dallas 2024 with Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip, G2 Esports is continuing its streak of unexpected stand-ins. The squad will enter the $425,000 event with its coach TaZ as a player. The unfortunate news, which is not yet confirmed by G2, is that he will replace m0NESY. While TaZ is a fan-favorite player, this swap definitely hurts the team’s chance of winning the event.

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TaZ to stand in for m0NESY at BLAST Spring Finals

An insider claims that m0NESY is unable to travel for BLAST Spring Finals, which is why G2 coach TaZ has to stand in.

The news comes from Polish Counter-Strike news outlet fastnewsCS, which has previously leaked other stand-ins and roster moves in the broader CS2 scene. G2 and BLAST have not confirmed the stand-in situation, so its possible that the young star will be able to attend the event starting June 12. It’s also possible that the team will find another AWPer to stand in for m0NESY at BLAST Spring Finals rather than TaZ. This is unrelated to the temporary replacement of captain Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen with Stewie2k at IEM Dallas. That was so HooXi could attend a wedding, not travel-related issues.

This BLAST season finale is taking place at the OVO Arena Wembley in London, England. The United Kingdom requires Russian citizens to apply for a visa before they can visit the country. This policy applies to Russian citizens who live in a different country, which means it applies to m0NESY. This makes travel more difficult for him and other Russian CS2 players, and visa mishaps are not uncommon in 2024.

This switch also puts the squad’s positions into flux. m0NESY was the squad’s dedicated AWPer, and the other players rarely touch a scoped rifle. Sniping responsibilities could fall to Nemanja “nexa” Isaković who occasionally rock the AWP during his time on OG. It’s also possible that TaZ himself will pick up the role to maximize the squad’s famous rifling ability.

G2 Esports has not confirmed m0NESY’s absence or TaZ’s replacement status, but expect an official update before the BLAST Premier: Spring Finals starts June 12.