Twistzz announces departure from Team Liquid after IEM loss

Team Liquid rifler Russel “Twistzz” van Dulken announced that he has played his last game with Liquid after the team’s loss to Astralis at the IEM Global Challenge.

In an interview after Team Liquid’s loss to Astralis at 2020’s last Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, twistzz shared that the grand final was his final game with Liquid. As the interview ended, Twistzz asked for another moment to make an announcement to Liquid fans before revealing that he would leave TL and stay in Europe for the foreseeable future. Twistzz was the driving force behind Liquid’s successes against Astralis after a relatively quiet tournament.

Twistzz said that he plans on staying in Europe and joining another “family-like team.”

Twistzz to leave Liquid after 4 years

Twistzz joined Team Liquid in 2014 after sharpening his skills with Misfits. Liquid, looking for a young prospect to add to its lineup, picked up Twistzz. While he struggled to adjust to top-tier CSGO early on in his career with Liquid, Twistzz turned into one of CSGO’s biggest names as he came under the tutelage of Liquid’s veterans. The rifler was part of the Liquid roster that won the Intel Grand Slam and its $1,000,000 grand prize in a record-breaking 63 days.

There has been no official announcement from Team Liquid regarding Twistzz departure, but Twistzz’s comments made it clear that the decision for him to leave was discussed with the organization and his teammates. The loss of Twistzz will hurt Liquid moving into 2021 where CSGO is expected to return to a LAN environment, but the recent addition of Michael “grim” Wince may have the organization looking to pick up another young talent.

It is unclear whether Twistzz is a free agent or if he will be on Liquid’s bench until the organization agrees to a transfer. There are few players who can match his pure skill, so expect him to remain active in CSGO for the foreseeable future.