FlyQuest Reassigns Leadership as aliStair Takes AWP Role
FlyQuest confirmed on September 2 that Alistair ‘aliStair’ Johnston is returning to the roster, taking over both the AWP and in-game leadership duties as the team enters the IEM Beijing 2026 Asia Closed Qualifier. The move follows his benching in late 2024 and full departure in 2025, and immediately reshapes FlyQuest’s leadership structure – a shift comparable to how Aurora’s recent roster overhaul altered its international lineup.
After leaving FlyQuest, aliStair played for SemperFi in March before joining THUNDER dOWNUNDER in October, reaching the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major with that squad – where he was eliminated by his soon-to-be-new teammates. FlyQuest had filled the AWP slot in the interim with Romanian rifler-turned-sniper Iulian ‘regali’ Harjău, who posted a 1.11 rating across a full year, then João ‘story’ Vieira, who put up a 1.10 in the first half of 2026 before returning to SAW. aliStair’s own FlyQuest numbers previously sat at a 1.02 rating, a mark he’ll need to clear given how the position has performed since – the kind of incremental roster math that echoes CyberShoke’s ongoing rebuild.
“These players don’t need a lot of corrections and direction; they already know how to play the game,” aliStair said in FlyQuest’s announcement video. “It’s just about finding that consistent level where we’re all playing together, and we all see the game in a very similar way.”
Roster and Role Changes
The current FlyQuest lineup now reads:
- Justin ‘jks’ Savage
- Alistair ‘aliStair’ Johnston
- Joshua ‘INS’ Potter
- Declan ‘Vexite’ Portelli
- Corey ‘nettik’ Browne
Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward stays on as coach. The change frees INS, the team’s statistical leader before he took up IGL duties in 2025, to focus purely on individual output – a redistribution of responsibility similar in spirit to Fnatic’s recent lineup completion. HLTV’s snapshot has aliStair at a 0.97 Rating 3.0 across 20 maps in the past three months, a baseline rather than a verdict on the new arrangement.
What Happens Next
aliStair’s return debuted in a 2-0 win over NEXVOID in the IEM Beijing 2026 Asia Closed Qualifier. FlyQuest’s next assignment in the bracket is Rare Atom, with the primary listing pegging the match for September 2 at 08:00, though the specific timezone wasn’t specified in the published schedule.
Source: HLTV
