You've probably heard his name, and you've definitely heard the sound of his TSCG. If you haven't yet, this is your PSA: Mingo and FYR Strays are here, and they've taken over T2.

Console switchovers aren't new in Rainbow Six esports, but Mingo has pulled off something nobody else has: competing at a T2 level on controller. He moved to PC just five months ago, and in that short span he's already won , one of the biggest T2 events in North America, Element 2026, with his team, formerly known as Blackjack.

The Road to PC

The story starts with Franklin, a now-veteran player who first made his mark in T2 with M80X, where he and co-stars Aidentax and Stompn placed fifth in the Challenger Series. After a failed run at North America League, Franklin went on to lead Qor Gaming to a grand final win at Element 5.

Now, more than a year later, he's found another young squad of console switchovers in FYR Strays, formerly known as Blackjack. The core is essentially Bay Harbour Butchers, Jayyguns, Letters and Bootz, with the addition of famed streamer Mingo. Under Franklin, they've led the team to another Element grand final win.

That 2026 win can't be discussed without mentioning Mingo,after starting a successful streaming career he decided to set his sights on t2 where in his first event he put up a record-breaking 1.72 rating in groups and a 1.32 rating overall, taking home tournament MVP. FYR faced Packrunners, the other hottest team in the event, in a grand final that went all five maps, closing it out 7-3 on Clubhouse.

Building Around the Player, Not the System

To really understand how this roster got this far in T2, I sat down with Maddog, head coach of FYR Strays. He's been around the Siege community for more than eight years, having owned a T3 team with Kunai Esports and played competitive collegiate Siege. He started his first coaching position with Bay Harbour Butchers during Challenger Series qualifiers and has been with the core three of Bootz, Jayyguns and Letters since then.

Many might assume FYR's continued success comes from an air tight system built to outplay other T2 teams, but it's actually the opposite. Maddog built a system that works around his players, rather than forcing them to work around the system.

I have not developed any system or playstyle for the boys, I just learned what they were already good at and worked with their strengths.

When you take a look at how FYR has succeeded, especially in playoffs, it comes down to preparation:

I know where everyone likes to play on every site on every map and what types of pushes they like to do, so I make suggestions for map and operator bans with that in mind.

And to clear up any confusion, the rumors aren't false. This team really doesn't scrim, as Maddog confirmed: "We don't scrim at all."

One thing that stood out was Maddog's take on playing defense in the current meta:

We are in a nitro meta. The more nitros available, the more likely you are to win the round. Lurking and ratting is a lot harder now with the new intel operators, so you need to be a lot more disciplined on defense.

What's Next?

FYR will compete in both the NA Open Cup Palmetto Bay and the T2 Finals in Salt Lake City this October.

Looking further ahead, with an Element win already secured, FYR Strays have qualified for both the SI LCQ and the 2027 Challenger Series, giving them a shot at reaching the North American League.

If anything sums up what the future holds for this team, it's this simple answer from Maddog on what's next:

So all that's next is to win everything else. Florida, Salt Lake, Challenger League, all of it we want to win.