This follows the recent additions of Casper “CadiaN” Moller, Wilton “zews” Prado, and Felipe “skullz” Medeiros.
The team’s revamp aims to bring in international talent and compete for trophies in the upcoming season.
CadiaN will take on the in-game leader (IGL) role, relieving Mareks “?YEKINDAR?” Ga?inskis to focus on a more prominent ‘star’ role suited to his playstyle.
The Liquid roster now boasts a combination of Keith “?NAF?” Markovic, Twistzz and YEKINDAR, all internationally proven talents.
This marks Twistzz’ second stint with Team Liquid after a successful run from 2017 to 2021, where they dominated CS:GO in 2019 but fell short of a major victory.
Twistzz then joined FaZe Clan and achieved success, winning the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and securing a second Intel Grand Slam.
With the new Liquid lineup, expectations are high for their performance in the upcoming season.
The team’s debut with the revamped roster is set for BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2024, starting on January 22nd, as they did not qualify for the BLAST Premier World Final.
The decision to rebuild the roster was strategic, aiming to strengthen the team for future competitions.
CadiaN’s addition as the IGL aims to address the team’s leadership vacuum, and his AWPing skills will fill the void left by Josh “oSee” Ohm’s benching.
Liquid’s management hopes that the inclusion of CadiaN, a successful Danish captain, along with the overall roster overhaul, will break the team’s offline title drought dating back to IEM Chicago 2019.
Twistzz’s return to Liquid has been highly anticipated since reports of a verbal agreement surfaced in October.
With the roster now complete, fans are eager to see how Team Liquid will perform in the upcoming events, especially given the team’s historical successes and the individual achievements of its players.
The upcoming PGL Major Copenhagen will be a key test for the new-look Team Liquid as they seek to establish themselves as a force in the Counter-Strike scene once again.
The moment you've been waiting for… our CS2 roster is finally complete.
Welcome Twistzz to Team Liquid CS. pic.twitter.com/JKuctC8FEm
— Team Liquid CS (@TeamLiquidCS) December 7, 2023
]]>
Daps, who joined the team in June 2022, played a pivotal role in guiding Liquid through a successful period, particularly after the acquisition of YEKINDAR bolstered the North American squad.
However, the team’s fortunes took a downturn as they transitioned to a European lineup led by YEKINDAR, resulting in a lack of success and prompting Liquid to undergo another rebuilding phase.
Alongside daps, the organization also parted ways with Robert “?Patsi?” Isyanov and moved Aleks “?Rainwaker?” Petrov to the bench.
The restructuring process at Liquid is apparent, with reports suggesting that Felipe “?skullz?” Medeiros, Casper “?cadiaN?” M?ller, and Russel “?Twistzz?” Van Dulken are potential signings.
As the roster undergoes significant changes, only Keith “?NAF?” Markovic and Mareks “?YEKINDAR?” Ga?inskis are reportedly set to remain.
In the wake of daps’ departure, the coaching reins are expected to be taken over by Wilton “?zews?” Prado, though an official announcement is yet to be made.
Zews, a former coach for Liquid, is anticipated to make a return to the North American organization.
Our time with @daps comes to a close ahead of 2024.
We appreciate his dedication to being the best we can be, getting our rosters on the same page and being the calm voice of reason out of the server.
Thank you & best of luck in the future, Damian! pic.twitter.com/IfONjjTbPL
— Team Liquid CSGO (@TeamLiquidCS) November 20, 2023
Daps’ 17-month tenure with Liquid saw multiple top-four finishes, narrowly missing out on titles like the BLAST Premier World Final 2022 and ESL Pro League Season 16.
However, the subsequent months were marked by underwhelming performances as the newly formed European roster failed to find its rhythm.
With Liquid coachless heading into 2024, the organization has until ESL Pro League Season 19 on April 23, 2024, to solidify its next squad.
As the CS2 landscape undergoes changes, including the potential return of NRG, the future destination of daps and the coaching dynamics in North American Counter-Strike remain uncertain.
]]>?The Brazilian coach was hired in time for O PLANO��s fast-approaching boot camp and IEM Road to Rio Americas RMR, which is scheduled to be held in Stockholm in a few weeks. During the tournament, O PLANO will have to face top CS:GO franchises like FURIA and Team Liquid.?
Zews was brought in after the roster lock and, as a result, will not be able to function as the squad��s coach during the RMR. He will, however, be a part of the boot camp set to take place before the tournament.?
?The previously retired coach made the announcement via his Twitter account, where he revealed that despite not being able to stay behind the O PLANO team during the tournament, he intended to stay on till the final stretch and give his best to the team.? ?
?While O PLANO have featured some notable names in the CS:GO scene in the past, they are yet to emerge as one of the top teams in the competitive scene. In line with the unstable Brazilian CS:GO scene, the team has changed its lineup several times over the years.? ?
Prior to his retirement, zews coached top esports teams like MiBR, SK Gaming, Luminosity, Evil Geniuses, and Team Liquid. While each squad had varied success levels, zews was notably a part of two legendary lineups that won two Majors.?
?During his tenure with SK Gaming and Luminosity, the coach produced amazing results. Team Liquid also significantly improved during his stint with them in 2016.? ?
The last team Zews coached before his retirement in June 2021 was Evil Geniuses. While with EG, they faced several highs and lows. The squad parted ways with the Brazilian coach after citing a difference in opinion concerning the direction Evil Geniuses intended to take.?
?Zews�� signing with O PLANO will be his first coaching role for the 2022 CS:GO season.? ?The coach suffered a major heart attack at the start of May this year. At the time, it was revealed that due to the type of attack, he had a 90% chance of death as well as a 95% chance of having permanent inadequacies in his bodily functions.?
?The heart attack reportedly had a high mortality rate and was coined ��widowmaker�� as a result. Despite his close brush with death, zews seems all set to continue his career.
O PLANO��s team is notably not as impressive as the coach��s previous teams, so he is likely about to begin one of his most challenging ventures yet.? ?O PLANO joined the Americas RMR as one of the lowest-ranked teams, so having an impressive coach like zews certainly spells some upsets in the team��s future.
]]>?Zews has since delved into content creation and NFTs after being mutually benched by Evil Geniuses on June 2, 2021, and eventually leaving. He had led EG to the BLAST Premier Spring American Finals in 2020, where they won the championship after defeating MiBR 2-0 to earn prize money of $160,000.
?Zews, who was in Brazil when the heart attack happened, was said to have been taken to one of the most sought-after hospitals in the country. Reporting the incident via his Twitter handle, Zews said that 90 percent of an artery was obstructed but the doctors cleared it with two coronary angioplasty procedures. He ended his tweet by saying ��hopefully everything will be OK,�� as he remains hopeful of a total recovery.
?The legendary coach has received an outpouring of support from the global esports community. Personalities such as Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella, Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, Tarik “tarik” Celik, and Frankie Ward have all taken to Twitter to wish him a speedy recovery.
?Zews was the mastermind behind Luminosity’s MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016 Finals win against the Natus Vincere, securing prize money of half a million dollars for the Canada-based team. He also led them to the 2016 ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals and secured prize money of $200,000 after defeating G2 Esports 3-2. He was not quite so lucky at the Esports Championship Series Season 1 Finals, where Luminosity suffered a 0-2 loss to G2 Esports to finish in second place with a $125,000 payday.
?During his time with SK Gaming, he led them to become the 2016 ESL One Cologne champions, stealing a win over Team Liquid to clinch a $500,000 prize earning.
?After a short stint at Immortals, he took the reins of Team Liquid and spent over two years with the Nazgul-owned franchise. He also led them to four championship finals, winning one and placing second in three. While they became champions at the 2018 SuperNova Malta, they finished second at the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals, and ESL Pro League 8 Finals.
In October 2021, in an interview with esports historian Duncan ��Thorin�� Shield, zews revealed his intention to pursue content creation, as he shared his reservations about continuing his known coaching path.
After 17 years in the industry as a player and a coach, zews is regarded as one of CS:GO’s best coaches ever and a valued member of the community. He was voted ��The Best National Revelation of 2015�� by Games Academy in a Brazilian poll.
]]>That ends the prominent Counter-Strike esports tactician’s 15-month tenure with MiBR, an organisation he joined in December 2018 as a part of an agreement that saw Jake “Stewie2K” Yip move to Team Liquid in exchange for Epit��cio “TACO” de Melo.
The player swap, which is to date regarded as one of the biggest roster moves in CS:GO’s history, has not brought MiBR the results they were hoping for. While Team Liquid soared to new heights with five titles in a row, including Intel Grand Slam Season 2 in a record 63 days, MiBR soon found themselves in a downright spiral.
Since MiBR signed zews and TACO, they have failed to reach the finals in 22 consecutive tournaments. Their best placement in that time came at IEM Katowice 2019 and the CS:GO Asia Championships, where the Brazilians finished third-fourth.
Ongoing roster struggles have not helped MiBR’s cause, as the departure of Marcelo “coldzera” David and Jo?o “felps” Vasconcellos left behind a huge void that the team have struggled to fill.
The arrival of Ignacio “meyern” Meyer and Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe has not done much for MiBR’s cause. They finished dead last at cs_summit 5 at the end of 2019 and failed to claw their way out of the group stage at both DreamHack Open Anaheim 2020 and the BLAST Premier Spring Series earlier this year.
Before MiBR opted for the deal with Team Liquid, they occupied fourth spot in the CS:GO world rankings. They have endured a steady decline ever since and now sit 25th in the global standings.
Shortly after the team announced the parting of zews, the Brazilian coach took to Twitter to explain the struggles that led to his departure. He claimed that the situation in the team was very grim for a while, as all members were aware they were “not even close to achieving the success they wanted during the rebuilding process for MiBR”.
“I’d like to say that I believe MIBR’s problems are closer to getting solved, but unfortunately I don’t know if I believe that to be the case,” said zews.
“The problems I found here are heavier, more complex and more deeply embedded than they seem to be, and in my opinion, the solutions tend to be more complex as well – requiring a bigger change to the roster and/or to its culture. I do not wish to give excuses or to create problems, I take my blame, but at the same time, I have to analyse the situation to be able to learn from it and to continue to evolve as a professional.
“As for my future, nothing is settled. My wish is to continue competing and dedicating myself to this esport that I love. Due to the global crisis and COVID-19 I will stay in the US analysing my options. In case you believe your organisation and I have something valuable to add to each other, please contact me: [email protected].”
Although MiBR have yet to announce who will replace zews as head coach, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo stated during one of his streams that the team manager, Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia, will take over the position.
]]>