A changing of the guard for one of the top Scandinavian teams; 69N-28E has released Joona "natu" Leppänen from their roster. Taking his place is the former Logitech.fi player Samu “plastE” Aalto.

When he joined the roster back in February of this year Joona contributed to a roster that saw its fair share of success in 2007. Taking home 1st place finishes at both NGL and WSVG Louisville, alongside a 4th place spot at SEC, Leppänen was a crucial component of the teams hot streak. However, after recent weak performances at ESWC as well as GameGune and due to a lack of availability resulting in difficulty practicing, his team felt it was time to make a change. Teammate Tomi “lurppis” Kovanen elaborates -

“We removed natu because he doesn't have as much time to commit to CS as the rest of us and we want to be sure to be on top of our game for the remaining big 1.6 tournaments”

Tomi continues, citing drive and determination as a forefront attribute that made Aalto attractive to the roster –

“He is an incredible fragger and an all-around great player. His relatively short time in the top tier of competition gives him a strong drive to win, and I think with him on board we will undoubtedly exceed all expectations in our upcoming competitions.“

Samu's accomplishments include playing with 69N-28E's local rivals, Logitech.fi, where he took a respectable placing of 4th at Gamegune 2007, as well as twin 7th place finishes in SHG and ESL Masters. Coincidently, he rang for Serious Gaming for the EWSC 2006 Finnish qualifiers where he played alongside his new teammates lurppis and naSu.

Besides his history and talent, Aalto is a long time friend of the team.

When all is said and done, the real test will be if this addition can bring to the team the focus they have lost. In terms of practice and preparation they have until October when 69N-28E will be competing in Seattle for the WCG World Finals.

The current roster:

Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen
Niko "naSu" Kovanen
Max "ruuit" Aspe
Juuso "contE" Sajakoski
Samu “plastE” Aalto