Jason “JBOEN” Nielsen has opened up about his unexpected move to FaZe. The Danish AWPer revealed that he was only the team’s “second or third priority” when they searched for a replacement for broky. However, after making the huge jump from a top-200 team, JBOEN already feels comfortable competing at tier-one level.
FaZe were not JBOEN’s expected next step
JBOEN joined FaZe on loan during the summer break. Before the offer arrived, he was discussing his future with BIG and considering what his next career move could be. FaZe had other players ahead of him on their shortlist. Still, the organization eventually decided to give the Danish AWPer an opportunity.
I mean, they had some other players they wanted besides me. Also, I was like, I think, second or third priority for the team, but they ended up picking me because of some things, and I think I did a really good job so far.
The offer surprised JBOEN because of the size of the jump. He expected to move forward in his career, but not directly into a top-10 lineup.
I was ready for the next step, but I didn’t expect it to be like two steps ahead or maybe even three. I come from like a top-200 team, now I’m playing on like a top-10 team. So it was unexpected and just nice.
JBOEN has made a promising start with FaZe. The Danish AWPer has recorded a 1.13 rating across his first 30 maps in CS2.
JBOEN: “I feel like I belong here”
The move also introduced JBOEN to a completely different level of competition. Despite that change, he believes he has already shown that he can compete with elite players.
I feel like I belong here, to be honest.
JBOEN also spoke positively about his first experience inside the tier-one scene. He said players regularly greet each other at events and described the atmosphere away from the server as welcoming.
At the same time, he knows that he still has areas to improve. JBOEN admitted that some players remain ahead of him and that he has things to learn and fix in his own game. Twistzz and frozen have impressed him the most among his new teammates. Both have years of experience at the highest level. JBOEN also revealed that he followed Twistzz long before becoming his teammate.
Even when I was younger, I used to watch the streams or games. I also remember that I was a big Twistzz fanboy back in the day.
FaZe fall short against Vitality
JBOEN gave the interview after FaZe’s 0-2 defeat to Vitality in the Round of 16 at the Esports World Cup 2026. FaZe came close to taking Dust2 but lost Vitality’s map pick 11-13. JBOEN was disappointed with the result because his team had opportunities to close the map. Cache was far more difficult. According to JBOEN, Vitality had plenty of material available to prepare against FaZe. His team, meanwhile, had little recent official footage of Vitality on the map to study.
We were the best Cache team in the world, I would say, like setwise and also like how many wins we got. So they have all the rounds, they can go anti-strat, do all the prep they need.
FaZe also struggled with their own execution. JBOEN pointed to poor decisions and small utility mistakes that repeatedly cost them rounds.
Sometimes we just needed like one flash drop. Like I die three or four times to A site because we don’t drop a flash, or just flash him off if another guy has a flash.
He described those details as a major reason behind FaZe’s problems on Cache.
JBOEN enjoyed playing against the crowd
Despite the elimination, JBOEN enjoyed his latest experience on stage. Much of the crowd supported FaZe’s opponents, but the Dane tried to turn that energy into extra motivation. He said he could not always understand what the fans were shouting. Instead, he focused on the noise, songs and atmosphere inside the arena and tried to use them positively.
JBOEN ultimately left the tournament disappointed with the result. Still, his rapid transition from a top-200 team to FaZe has given him a chance to establish himself at the highest level. His early performances have only strengthened his belief that he belongs there.
