FlyQuest bench aliStair, expand search for new fifth

The off-season has officially begun for Oceanic Counter-Strike, and with it its first roster move.

FlyQuest has announced the benching of Alistair "⁠aliStair⁠" Johnston, ending a tenure with Australia’s number one domestic team that dates back to his arrival at Renegades in February 2021.

With it, FlyQuest are looking for a new AWPer, and with no obvious heir apparent to fill the role from within the domestic scene, it seems likely that FlyQuest will take TALON’s approach of finding an AWPer from overseas. AliStair had filled the role across all iterations of the roster spanning stints at Grayhound, ORDER, Renegades, and FlyQuest.

AliStair’s tenure was starkly different internationally compared to their domestic results. While domestically they remained as Australia’s team to beat, their overseas results were inconsistent at best.

A recent uptick winning ESL Challenger Atlanta and starting 2-0 at the Perfect World Shanghai Major Opening Stage were bright spots in an otherwise disappointing campaign this year. While results had begun to improve, change seemed inevitable around FlyQuest’s squad and rumours began to swirl about possible replacements for aliStair.

After the announcement, aliStair took to X/Twitter to confirm he is still looking to compete, and that while the last year has been his toughest year in CS, he has currently “the best mentality I’ve ever had and a better outlook on how I should approach competition” leading into 2025.

“This is not the end for me in Counter Strike and I’m grateful for my time with the gents I’ve got to play and grow with,” he added.

FlyQuest are currently enjoying the end-of-season break before they gear up for the 2025 season in January.