Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson is out of action for the $200,000 event after suffering a hand injury.

KRIMZ will be forced to watch his team's run through Elisa Masters Espoo from the sidelines after being ruled out due to a hand injury.

Peppe "⁠Peppzor⁠" Borak has been called up in his place and the 20-year-old travels to Elisa Masters Espoo to stand in for fnatic for the third time.

KRIMZ's absence from the Finnish LAN makes fnatic the second side to be forced to utilise a substitute. BIG head into Elisa Masters Espoo with Josef "⁠faveN⁠" Baumann back on the starting lineup as a replacement for Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische, who has tested positive for COVID-19.

fnatic make the journey to Finland on the back of their surprisingly strong run through the IEM Rio Major. The team around William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman surpassed all expectations during their time in Brazil, where they made it all the way to the playoffs of the Valve-sponsored event.

fnatic struggled to keep up this strong form once in the Jeunesse Arena, and their run in the IEM Rio Champions Stage came to an abrupt end when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Outsiders, the tournament's gold medalists.

The loss of KRIMZ at Elisa Masters Espoo will be felt dearly by fnatic as they look to end the year on a high note. The Swede was on his side's highest-performing players in his squad's Legends Stage run, where he averaged a 1.05 rating — tied with Dion "⁠FASHR⁠" Derksen and just behind mezii (1.07).

fnatic have turned to academy player, Peppzor, to fill the void. He is no stranger to filling in for the main team, previously making the jump up on two separate occasions. The first of which was back in April 2021 when the rifler joined fnatic as their sixth man, where he spent three months with the team before moving back down to the developmental lineup.

His most recent stint with mezii and company came just this year, stepping in for the black-and-orange for another three-month stint as a replacement for Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, who was in the process of making his blockbuster move to Ninjas in Pyjamas at the time.

fnatic have been seeded into Group B for Elisa Masters Espoo, a tournament in which they are touted as being one of the favourites to take home the trophy and the $100,000 top prize. The international roster will get their campaign started on Thursday at 11:30 with an opening matchup versus 500.

fnatic's lineup for Elisa Masters Espoo is as follows:

William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman
Nico "⁠nicoodoz⁠" Tamjidi
Fredrik "⁠roeJ⁠" Jørgensen
Dion "⁠FASHR⁠" Derksen
Peppe "⁠Peppzor⁠" Borak (stand-in)

Jamie "⁠keita⁠" Hall (coach)