New roster of Team Liquid. Are there any chances on the tier-1 stage?
The season of reshuffles is coming to its logical conclusion, because top Counter-Strike tournaments will soon return to our screens. This off-season could not please us with real sensational changes; most of the best teams in the world remained unchanged, but it still brought some surprises. We have already been surprised by the new roster of Cloud9, but another tier-1 organization, Team Liquid, also made unexpected transfers. After Casper cadiaN Meller’s kick, the organization had to take a different path, because there are not many free snipers, and especially captains, on the professional scene. The community was expecting several obvious transfers, but the club decided to surprise everyone even more and presented a lineup that no one expected. After Сasper cadiaN Meller, the Brazilian Felipe skullz Medeiros and coach Wilton zews Prad also left the organization.
It was almost impossible to guess new Team Liquid players; the team was not replenished with obvious candidates for vacant roles. The new supporter of the team was Justin jks Savage, who did not perform on the professional stage after being kicked from G2 Esports. Many people were waiting for the return of the Australian, but no one thought that it would happen in Team Liquid. And the organization shocked the organization even more with the choice of sniper – a young Pole who had not performed on the shooting tier-1 stage – Roland ultimate Tomkowiak – will play with AWP. The role of captain, according to rumors, should be taken by Russell Twistzz Van Dulken. This will be the first experience for a player in the IGL position, which is also a rather unexpected decision. The new coach of the team was Torbjorn mithR Nyborg, who previously worked with Apeks.
In this article we will discuss all the changes in Team Liquid and evaluate the team’s prospects in the new competitive season of Counter-Strike 2.
Justin jks Savage is one of the best anchors in the world
Justin jks Savage is rightfully one of the best players in his role. The replacement of the Australian with Nemanja nexa Isakovic as part of G2 Esports is still not clear. The Serb’s performance for the club clearly showed that this was a wrong decision. However, it is also not clear why there has been absolutely no interest in Justin jks Savage since November 2023. If earlier this could be justified by reluctance to pay the ransom, then from February 2024 the player has already become completely free from the contract with G2. While the player played for the club, he showed very good results and was considered one of the keys to victories for G2 Esports, with him the team earned trophies at BLAST Premier World Final 2022, IEM Katowice 2023 and IEM Cologne 2023. He also led FaZe Clan to the championship at IEM Katowice 2022, when he standing for her.
This transfer is definitely positive for Team Liquid, but the Australian will need time to return to the level of the tier-1 scene. Justin jks Savage has not practiced for a long time and may experience problems in such a controversial lineup; other decisions of the organization regarding the composition may have a negative impact on the player’s future career.
Roland ultimate Tomkowiak – who is he?
Team Liquid was expected to sign Volodymyr Woro2k Veletniuk or any other top sniper, but the club decided to surprise everyone and made another controversial decision after last year’s signing of Aleks Rainwaker Petrov. The organization again decided to bet on a young and unknown player; the new sniper of Team Liquid was Roland ultimate Tomkowiak, who played only for AGO and Illuminar. Many also accuse his teams of participating in rigged matches and dubious tournaments. However, he has a good rating for a sniper, which could be the reason for his selection in Team Liquid. This player is an absolute dark horse for such a large organization; it is now clearly not in a position to make such decisions. If Roland ultimate Tomkowiak fails to become a top sniper without any help, Team Liquid will face another natural failure.
New coach for Team Liquid
Along with Justin jks Savage and Roland ultimate Tomkowiak, a new coach, Torbjorn mithR Nyborg, also joined Team Liquid. He has been Apeks’ mentor for almost a year and led the team to second places at Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 and ESL Challenger Atlanta 2023, but he does not have any significant achievements. This is definitely a negative transfer for Team Liquid after the legendary Wilton zews Prad. Considering that Torbjorn mithR Nyborg will have to work with experienced players like Keith NAF Markovic and Russell Twistzz Van Dulken, that adds unnecessary pressure. Considering all the problems of the new Team Liquid roster, it will also be difficult for the coach to open up and show himself in all his glory.
Russell Twistzz Van Dulken is the captain. Is this a good decision?
For the first time in his career, Russell Twistzz Van Dulken takes on the role of captain. This is a rather strange decision, considering that the player is still the star of the team and has excellent statistics. He is also only 24 years old and it is too early to think about leadership. This decision will definitely be a negative for both the Canadian and the team itself. He will have to lead an inexperienced sniper and Justin jks Savage, who has just returned from inactivity. Most likely, after the natural failure of the new Team Liquid roster, Russell Twistzz Van Dulken will never again be captain in the coming years.
The new roster of Team Liquid turned out to be ambiguous and extremely controversial. While it’s hard to believe in his return to the list of the best teams, it will be an even more difficult path than the idle lineup with Casper cadiaN Möller, at least he had great prospects. Now Liquid has a good defensive player who hasn’t played for a long time, a young inexperienced sniper who hasn’t had any outstanding achievements even at his level, and one of the best players on the roster who was forced to become captain. We will not expect success from Team Liquid in the new season, nor will we expect a good game from Russell Twistzz Van Dulken. It’s a shame that a player who is still in his best form and quite young to be promoted to captain has to sacrifice his ambitions for the sake of the team. Team Liquid is definitely expecting even bigger changes in a few tournaments, but there is a small chance that Roland ultimate Tomkowiak will be able to reveal himself as a top sniper and save his team from failure. The chance of this is extremely small, as is the chance of the success of a once successful team.