Jirair “Gyro.” Papazian is Rogue’s new third, the organization announced on Friday. After FaZe dropped him at the conclusion of Rocket League Championship Series Season X, Gyro’s next destination was unclear. But at the same moment of the announcement of Rogue’s Jason “Firstkiller” Corral’s move to FaZe, Rogue confirmed that Gyro is joining the team. And so, a direct swap has been made.
It's time to #GyRogue 🎉
We're thrilled to announce @ExplosiveGyro has joined our Rocket League roster! pic.twitter.com/D4Rx7ig86O
— Rogue (@RoguexOfficial) September 3, 2021
Gyro has big shoes to fill on Rogue
While Gyro is considered as an excellent player in his own right, and his departure from FaZe was unexpected by some, Gyro is replacing one of the top players in the region and the world. Rogue’s results last season were decent, with a top four finish in the regular season and a fifth place in the RLCS X Championships. Rogue took a blow losing their star player, but Gyro was one of the top free agents to pick from.
Gyro, in turn, finished in sixth place with FaZe Clan. The team looked decent enough, but was never a contender for the absolute top. Meanwhile for RLCS Season 11, Rogue is not expected to rise to new heights. They will likely be a solid team that will hover around top six, but the existing players, Leonardo “Turinturo” Wilson and Alexandre “Taroco.” Reis Pedrogam, will have to step up to a new level if they want to improve on the results of last season.
“Coming to the decision for Rogue wasn’t too difficult for me,” Gyro said in the team’s announcement video. “I had a lot of options but in the end I just had to go with Rogue. A top four team in NA and they’ve been in Rocket League for almost half a decade now. I know this team loves Rocket League, I know the team is good at Rocket League and I can trust that we can win some tournaments together.”
Gyro went on to explain his initial expectations are to reach top six, but top four is the goal as the team learns to play with each other. He doesn’t want to “scrape by,” as he is confident they are good enough to make LAN.
