Last week we saw Konstantin "Cny" Kalganov being dropped out of the fifth Intel Extreme Masters' season due to a ban he received on behalf of id Software. He was then asked by the ESL to leave, as his ban was in violation with the IEM rulebook.
It did not take the ESL long to find a replacement and in a match-up between Kenneth "
plaZma" Aulie and Team-Dignitas player, Dan "
zsx" Sanders, the Brit came out on top and would take the Russian's spot in Group F. It now seems that the gods are smiling upon the former Call of Duty star, as
Andrew "Balk" Baltsevich chose to drop out of the IEM at the last possible minute due to personal issues.
This sees the Norwegian move into Group B of the IEM, where he will have a tough time reaching the TOP 2 of his group, as two FnaticMSI stars, Kévin "
strenx" Baéza as well as Sebastian "
Spart1e" Siira, will be the main contenders for the top spot.
As it stands now, the European Championship will start tomorrow and Kenneth "plaZma" Aulie will immediately have to face the toughest player in the group. His match against Sebastian "Spart1e" Siira, however, will be a good opportunity to show what he is capable of.
IEM Group B
1. 
Sebastian "Spart1e" Siira
2. 
Kévin "strenx" Baéza
3. 
Stefano "spartaz0rd" Conoci
4. 
Fridbjorn "xrebzy" Davidsen
5. 
Kenneth "plaZma" Aulie
The ESL stated the following in their announcement about the switch:
"After the recent disqualification of Cny another another player left the tournament. Unfortunately Balk canceled his participation due to personal issues. He gets replaced by Kenneth 'plaZmaa' Aulie, who lost in a decider match to zsx, where Cny's replacement was supposed to be determined."
Related
IEM Announcement
gl anyway :D
after all that eh
gl plaz