SJ bench AKE and BONA, sign Jimpphat and HENU

Young rifler Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo, brother of Jere "⁠sergej⁠" Salo, joins the team at only 14 years old.

Finnish CS:GO team SJ have made changes to their starting lineup, benching Leevi "⁠AKE⁠" Kovalainen and Verneri "⁠BONA⁠" Junkala in favour of the incoming Jimpphat and Henri "⁠HENU⁠" Ylilehto. It seems the move is performance related, with Otta Takala, SJ's Sports Executive Director, commenting that "the changes to the line-up are aimed at better competitive success."

Jimpphat, younger brother of sergej and only 14 years of age, comes into the team to some excitement, having posted some impressive stats throughout the first part of the year. Of particular note was the Elisa Nordic Championship Finland, where the young Finn posted a 1.51 rating to knock his new team out of the event.

BONA finds himself benched along with AKE

Jimpphat has also filled in for SJ before at the Spring Sweet Spring 2 Regionals, where he posted an impressive 1.38-rated map against GORILLAZ, with the team narrowly losing out in overtime.

It is worth noting that the team will be unable to use the 14-year-old in any Valve-sanctioned events, with Jimpphat currently serving a five-year ban, which will expire in January 2023. This comes as part of Valve's new eligibility guidelines regarding VAC bans.

It has been a quiet year for SJ, having generally made little impact in regional tournaments and failing to qualify for any of the stronger tier-two events. They have also struggled to distinguish themselves among their countrymen, dropping series throughout the year so far to other Finnish teams like hREDS and KOVA. They will be hoping the new changes will push them to greater heights over the rest of this year.

You can catch the following SJ lineup in action next against AGO in the Malta Vibes Knockout Series, starting Monday, August 16 at 13:00 :

Tony "⁠arvid⁠" Niemelä
Tuomas "⁠SADDYX⁠" Louhimaa
Joel "⁠Jelo⁠" Lentonen
Henri "⁠HENU⁠" Ylilehto
Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo