AZR open to European offers

The 100 Thieves captain announced that he is looking to begin a new chapter in his career, but did not rule out staying in North America if "the right offer" comes along.

Aaron "⁠AZR⁠" Ward has announced his search for a new team, stating that he has been given permission to sort out his future by 100 Thieves, who confirmed last week that they were withdrawing from Counter-Strike. He is the second player from the Australian roster to announce a search for a new place to call home after Sean "⁠Gratisfaction⁠" Kaiwai revealed on Sunday he was open to offers in both VALORANT and CS:GO.

This marks the first time AZR has been left without a team since 2012, when he linked up with Vox Eminor. He has spent the last six years playing alongside Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage, who is reportedly on the brink of joining Complexity.

In a TwitLonger, AZR reminisced about his time playing alongside his countrymen, and also gave credit to former coach Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović and to Edward Cleland, 100 Thieves' performance specialist, for helping him grow as an individual in recent years. In a follow-up tweet, AZR revealed his willingness to play for a European team and move to the Old Continent, but stated that he would still be willing to play for a North American lineup if the right offer came along.

During his tenure with the Australian roster, AZR took part in six Majors, most notably achieving top-eight and top-four finishes at IEM Katowice 2019 and StarLadder Berlin 2019, respectively. The team also achieved a runner-up finish at IEM Beijing last year, marking their first-ever Big Event final appearance.