Slightly ahead of schedule, Faint Gaming have entered the next stage of their standard ESEA life cycle. Just eight days after announcing what was supposed to be their final, permanent, set-in-stone lineup, they have undergone a roster metamorphosis.

Citing — unsurprisingly — chemistry issues, the organization has shed Medic meyy and Demoman dingo for bear and xaler, respectively. While meyy has departed the roster completely, Faint owner Hobin has stated that dingo will still be kept on as a sub.

Following his brief time spent in Europe, along with a brief appearance at i63, bear is making his ESEA return after a season-long break. While formerly recognized bearing a Velocity eSports jersey, having previously played four seasons with the team, he also briefly played with froyotech in Sweden to win the Esport United Community Rumble.

After studying abroad, bear returns to his homeland (picture by Ness "uberchain" Delacroix and Jasmine "Jasbutts" Ho)

Meanwhile, xaler comes off a respectable second place finish with Ascent last season, having previously played for Faint Gaming for two seasons. Following Ascent’s roster overhaul, xaler makes a return to the organization for another season.

We reached out to bear for comment on his return to Invite:

Melancholy is a good word to describe my feelings as I returned home from studying abroad in Amsterdam and living it up in the sometimes-forgotten realm of "Real Life." Even though I had a nice break from TF2, playing at i63 and watching the crazy-hype grand finals made me super motivated to play the game again at a high level. Meyy quitting left a vacant medic spot on FAINT, and when the offer came for me to play, it was too good an opportunity to pass up—though I do feel bad about abandoning saam and his buds on TEAMNOW.

Even though I practically haven't played at all in two months, I'm confident I can get back into form, and I am super excited to be playing with a dedicated group of players who are also super keen to grind the game and improve as a team. Still sorting out plans for upcoming LANs, but playing in Invite in such a hyper competitive season is enough excitement for me for now, though I hope to be able to fly out to Cali again this January and play at Episode III.

The next evolution of Faint Gaming stars:

• Scout: sandblast
• Scout: catface
• Roamer: tojo
• Pocket: Deathy
• Demoman: xaler
• Medic: bear