July 3, 2019

eUnited Set To Drop In Two New Players For NPL Phase 3

With the third and final phase of the National PUBG League beginning Sept. 7, eUnited have acquired two new players that are set to drop in and make an impact in the efforts to qualify for the upcoming 2019 PUBG Global Championship.

Effective immediately, Brendan “Balefrost” Connors and Mitchell “Shuhroo” King will join the high-octane duo of Viktor “Stab” Blaesbjerg and Taylor “TaylorJay” Johnson.

Leaving eUnited are longtime captain Andrew “GICE” Geisinger and former in-game leader Tom “PistolaTime” Banel.

The move comes after an eighth place finish in the overall standings in Phase 2 of the NPL, with eUnited teetering on the edge of having to potentially fight through relegation into the NPL Contenders division once again. Despite the hot start to the season, the team struggled down the road with consistency, prompting coach Trey “Afflux” Bourne to make adjustments.

“Right now, we’re a top-8 borderline relegation team,” Afflux said. “We average between one and four points per game. And with the next roster, given some proper time to nurture and practicing throughout the summer nonstop, I project we’re going to go from one and four points to, hopefully, four to nine points per game.”

The increase in consistently racking up points will help a team that was recently in danger of relegation to becoming a team that sits near the top of the standings moving forward according to Afflux.

With the points structure being predicated on kills, the new roster formation will feature Stab as the sole in-game leader with TaylorJay, Balefrost and Shuhroo serving as fraggers that will assist in team fights. This approach will allow communications in game to be more streamlined and align with other successful teams who have already changed their approach.

Shuhroo (pronounced shuh-roo) is coming off of a successful Phase 2, ranking ninth in overall damage dealt as a member of the now-defunct Denial and Smokin’ Aces. The 22-year-old Canadian has been a part of several teams that have competed in the NPL. He also ranked in the top-10 in damage in Phase 1 earlier this year.

For Balefrost, Phase 3 of the NPL will be his first stint as a professional PUBG player. The 17-year-old will turn 18 in August, making him eligible to play. He has served as a substitute for a variety of different rosters in online play, including playing with current teammate Stab on team Overconfident.

In preparation for Phase 3, the team will dive straight into scrimmages in the near future and have recently been participating in daily online tournaments as a way to build chemistry and experience for players like Balefrost who have yet to play at a professional level on LAN.

"Moving forward, we know that this roster is a gamble," Afflux said. "But we are confident in everyone's ability to work together and have more synergy while building mutual trust. Being able to make those impactful plays while consistently moving up the leaderboards."

Phase 3 officially begins Sept. 7, with matches streamed on the official PUBG Twitch channel.