Sprout’s recent announcement has sparked both shock and excitement in the CSGO community. The European team has decided to bench Ismail #Refrezh Ali, ending his six-month run on the active squad. While Refrezh will also be put on the transfer list, Rasmus #Zyphon Nordfoss will make a grand comeback to the starting squad after missing the previous three games due to injury.

Sprout has made several internal adjustments this month, which included Zyphon’s original removal and Refrezh’s decision to abandon his position as in-game leader. Mikkel #Maze Sparvath briefly took charge as the IGL, but the squad ended their trial after a few days, possibly because they found Maze to be better off in the kitchen than in the game.

Last August, Refrezh joined Sprout alongside Zyphon and became the team’s new commander. Under his leadership, the Denmark core shocked everyone by defeating FORZE, Spirit, and B8 at the European RMR. They even earned a place in the IEM Rio Major Legends Stage and achieved their best finish at a Valve-sanctioned event. Who knew Sprout could sprout some gaming talent?

However, as Refrezh took on his new duties as an IGL, the team’s consistency dwindled. Things didn’t improve when they withdrew early from IEM Katowice and the closed qualifier for IEM Rio 2023. By February, Refrezh had made the decision to leave the team’s leadership position, probably because he realized he had better chances of leading plants than players.

Maze served as an IGL for Sprout for a short period of time, but the team chose not to continue with the Dane in charge. The group had to compete in the CCT Central Europe Championships with coach Danny #BERRY Kruger as their fifth player. Unfortunately, they finished last and without a single map victory, leaving the other teams to wonder if Sprout was just a seed that refused to grow.

In their official statement on Twitter, Sprout expressed their gratitude to Refrezh for his commitment and memories, especially their run to the Rio Major. However, due to different views on the project, they had to make a mutual agreement to put him on the transfer list. It’s like they’re saying, “We appreciate your effort, Refrezh, but it’s time for you to sprout somewhere else.”

If the European team wants to compete in the Regional Major Ranking event in April with BERRY on the roster, they must find a replacement in-game leader before the RMR registration date. Maybe they could start scouting for players who have experience leading a team of veggies to victory. Who knows? It might just be the missing ingredient to Sprout’s success.