Miłosz “mhL” Knasiak has officially been benched by TALON, with the Polish AWPer announcing on X that he is free to seek new opportunities. According to his statement, he can participate in practice sessions and official matches with other teams as long as he receives prior approval from TALON, and there are no financial restrictions on his potential transfer.
During his time with the team, mhL stood out as their top performer, maintaining an impressive 1.16 rating across 44 maps. Despite his strong individual form, the Oceanic roster as a whole struggled to make an impact after coming together in August last year.
TALON had a promising start when they secured a spot in the Perfect World Shanghai Major Asia RMR and even managed to take down FlyQuest in their opening match. However, consecutive losses to Rare Atom and Lynn Vision prevented them from advancing to the Major itself. Leading up to the RMR, the squad also participated in several online European tournaments, but their results were lackluster, winning only four out of twelve matches. Currently, they sit at No. 246 in Valve’s Global Ranking, holding the No. 32 position within Asia and No. 108 on HLTV’s rankings.
mhL, along with Australian in-game leader Aaron “AZR” Ward, has not played in any of the four official matches TALON have competed in so far this year. Instead, the team has been relying on Euan “sterling” Moore and Liam “malta” Schembri as temporary stand-ins while participating in regional Oceanic competitions.
With mhL now officially on the sidelines, the future direction of TALON remains uncertain. The team will need to determine whether they will pursue permanent replacements or attempt to rebuild around their existing core. Meanwhile, mhL’s availability on the transfer market is likely to draw interest from organizations looking for an experienced and high-performing AWPer.
The current active lineup consists of Aaron “AZR” Ward from Australia, Corey “nettik” Browne and Christian “ADDICT” Pendleton from New Zealand, and Jared “hazr” O’Bree from Australia. Swedish coach Daniel “djL” Narancic remains at the helm. With mhL now benched, his next move in the competitive scene is one to watch closely.
