Media: Wildcard to promote fr3nd

5-7-2025 20:26

Wildcard have looked to their academy team to field phzy's replacement.

Wildcard are set to promote AWPer Sebastian "⁠fr3nd⁠" Kuśmierz from the team's academy squad to their main lineup, according to a report from Dust2.us that HLTV's sources have confirmed.

This report comes just days after Wildcard announced the benching of in-game leader Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz and AWPer Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant.

Wildcard bench phzy and stanislaw

fr3nd's jump to Wildcard's main lineup is not the only move the international squad is keen to make, as American rifler Jaxon "⁠Peeping⁠" Cornwell has previously been reported to be joining Wildcard in the aftermath of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

Dust2.us has also reported that Aran "⁠Sonic⁠" Groesbeek is poised to "exit the lineup in the near future," though Wildcard will still be making use of the South African to retain their place in the upcoming FISSURE Playground 1 in Belgrade, Serbia.

fr3nd has been a part of Wildcard Academy for just over six months, averaging an impressive 1.16 rating during his time with the young European side. Previously, fr3nd plied his trade with various Polish lineups, including in HONORIS alongside Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas and Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski.

Wildcard's new lineup is rumored to be:

Josh "⁠JBa⁠" Barutt
Aran "⁠Sonic⁠" Groesbeek
Tim "⁠susp⁠" Ångström
Jaxon "⁠Peeping⁠" Cornwell
Sebastian "⁠fr3nd⁠" Kuśmierz

Vincent "⁠vinS⁠" Jozefiak (coach)

who tf is igl

2025-07-05 20:28

9 replies

sonic

2025-07-05 21:37

3 replies

fr3nd

2025-07-05 21:43

2 replies

KOLESIOSTWO

2025-07-05 21:55

edit fr3nd twitter: I will not be igl

2025-07-06 00:33

reportedly fr3nd will be igl

2025-07-05 21:42

according to liquipedia sonic is.

2025-07-06 13:16

1 reply

I'd rather to stand with what coach had said in one podcast

2025-07-06 21:14

no one on that team would igl better than stan I dont get what tf theyre doing. not even making an NA team either

2025-07-05 22:21

That might be about vibes though, we will never know - some things on paper look perfect, but just don't work In reality.

2025-07-06 06:14

I like fr3nd and peeping but this is a downgrade

14 replies

goat ex tier 3 coach vins arent think that

2025-07-05 20:29

not his call. vins would rather have stanislaw

2025-07-05 21:48

fr3nd is also an igl

2025-07-05 20:30

he might be but i don't think this is a better Wildcard.

2025-07-05 20:32

How so? fr3nd is sidegrade with phzy and peeping is 1000% a firepower upgrade vs. stan. No idea who is going to IGL though.

2025-07-05 20:57

I think Phzy>Fr3nd by a bit. But igl has to be fr3nd or susp if the article is correct and they replace sonic that replacement has to be NA (or SA) they had 1 of the 2 good NA igls in stan and nitro. So how are they going to get a better IGL and Stan IGL >>>>>>>> Fr3nd IGL.

2025-07-05 21:00

7 replies

Sonic plays rotator / star roles, right? Who would they replace him with that is NA? His roles are Niko-like - non-entry star roles.

2025-07-05 21:05

5 replies

Honestly idk. Also its more like who is replacing stan roles as peeping is taking sonic roles. and for that who takes stan roles who knows. Maybe Fruitcupx maybe they take reck and try to revive him.

2025-07-05 21:09

Peeping plays star roles? I didn't know that.

2025-07-05 21:10

The reports started with -sonic +peeping as a 1 for 1. Then stan and phzy get suddenly benched so now everything is crazy. But dust2 reports still had -sonic +peeping. Right now they have to keep sonic until they are set in the VRS to replace him.

2025-07-05 21:11

Sonic plays a lot of bitch roles as well. He takes on whatever the team needs him to in any given map, round or match. Plus there's the not-so-minor fact that he's probably the most underrated secondary AWPer in the game.

2025-07-05 21:40

I guess. per ner0 Ancient: A Anubis: Mid (star role) D2: Mid (star role) Inferno: B support Nuke: Outside (star role) Train: A Main (star role)

2025-07-05 23:44

Their coach said that stanislaw is Goat igl, and that his calls are very good, and that it sucks that he get benched. And he said that Stan is basicly polish, he speak PL fluent, has PL GF, PL nationality etc, and that he ll find a new team real fast. He also said that it was org call that they want to have igling awper

2025-07-06 01:25

Not having a clear leader is a big problem. I predict this lineup will be marginally if not substantially worse than the previous

2025-07-05 21:01

Lol

this is the worst roster move in a long time

crazy downgrade

Indont think this is an upgrade, mostly cuz of lack of igl that can replace stanislaw imo

Who do we think is replacing sonic

2025-07-05 20:31

8 replies

who knows but it would have to be an NA player to keep NA majority for VRS

2025-07-05 20:34

they have NA majority, valve changed the rules. African players no longer count as Asia, but as the lowest region on the team. So they have 3 Americans & 2 Europeans

2025-07-05 20:39

Read what im replying too.

i thought you were implying that they have to change him to have NA majority, mbb

2025-07-05 20:50

Nobody cause they would lose their vrs points

2025-07-05 20:35

If you read the article you’ll see Sonic is expected to go out of the team some time after FISSURE

2025-07-05 20:51

That would be an utterly braindead move

2025-07-06 00:42

maybe dexter?

2025-07-05 21:53

The biggest downgrade I have seen in a while. Justice for Phzy..

downgrade

2025-07-05 20:36

who igl?

2025-07-05 20:38

6 replies

oh wow, ngl this is probably speedrun to tier 4 then

2025-07-05 20:41

yeah it doesn't look good. +peeping and +fr3nd as igl

2025-07-05 22:08

Is that confirmed? Tough for kid coming out of academy to gain respect of veterans.

2025-07-05 20:58

There are no veterans on wildcard anymore

I guess sonic for like a month.

why? phzy was doing great

why kicking their igl and best player? Not sure, dont even think they know

2025-07-05 20:45

He catfished them with his old picture.

#Notmywildcard #justice for Stan #letNAcsROT

I remind you that this player insulted Russian players after the RMR match ended

2025-07-05 20:42

Based

2025-07-05 20:59

same rating as phzy just 7 tiers lower, great move

he is igl

2025-07-06 01:27

no he isn't

2025-07-06 02:12

he was igl in the academy team for last 3 mo, and he is going to be in main team. For now its sonic, but their coach said that org wants to have igl-awp, and thats why phzy got benched. Fr3nd said that he ll not be igl in main team FOR NOW. Idk super weird move. Their coach vins said that he didnt have any options with those changes and that he thinks that stanislaw is very good igl

2025-07-06 09:54

wildcard really living up to their name with how they be deciding on these dogshit roster moves

2025-07-05 21:07

You really should start using "Sources:" instead of "Media:" in your titles. It is back in fashion among HLTV reporters, I have observed.

Isn't "sources" for insiders and "media" for other publications (dust2 us in this case)

2025-07-05 21:34

I don't know why I never realized that lol, thanks

2025-07-05 23:22

Oh hell no what is going on

2025-07-05 21:14

their coach recently said that their management want to go into igling awp and that's the reason they kicked stanislaw now that's getting super weird lmao

2025-07-05 21:15