flameZ to miss upcoming IEM Katowice match; coach ruggah to step in

The Danish coach will enter the server for the first time in more than four years.

Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan will miss out on OG's lower bracket match against Outsiders at IEM Katowice 2023 due to illness, the organization announced on Twitter. Coach Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due will step in to fill the gap left by the star rifler.

The 34-year-old has not competed professionally since 2012, when he was a part of Anexis alongside Jacob "⁠Pimp⁠" Winneche and Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen, although his last stint on the server came in 2018 when he played 20 rounds for OpTic while standing in for Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen against SJ.

flameZ has been OG's standout player during their campaign in Katowice

OG started their journey at IEM Katowice in the play-in stage and they cruised through it due to flameZ's incredible form in the first two matches against Sprout and fnatic, in which he averaged a 1.28 rating. The 19-year-old struggled to maintain that level in the group stage, where OG were knocked down to the lower bracket by Heroic, although he was crucial in the Mirage decider victory over MOUZ.

The European squad now has the tough challenge of facing top five side in the world Outsiders, after which they would still have to play another series later in the day against the winner of fnatic vs. Complexity were they to be victorious against Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and company.

OG will face Outsiders with the following lineup:

Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar
Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković
Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov
Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas
Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due