Team Liquid adds caster moses as new CSGO head coach, adreN out

Team Liquid has made a big change to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.

The organization has added a new head coach in Jason “moses” O’Toole, who will be replacing Eric “adreN” Hoag. The news was revealed by Liquid on the organization’s official Twitter account:

moses is best known to current fans of CSGO for his regular work as a commentator and analyst for a slew of the game’s largest events, including the last four majors. This also marks a return to the competitive end of the game, with moses having previously played at the top levels of Counter-Strike 1.6. He primarily competed with United5, finishing in the top eight of a major tournament as far back as 2003. He fully transitioned into working as an on-air talent in 2015.

With the addition of moses,  Liquid now parts ways with adreN. A former player for Liquid, adreN helped the organization rise up through the ranks of CSGO during his 16-month run with the squad from 2015 to 2016. His greatest achievement as a player came in 2016 when he helped Liquid place in the top four at MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016.

After a run with Mythic, adreN transitioned into a coaching role with Team Liquid in 2018. By 2019, Liquid enjoyed a lengthy run as the top-ranked team in CSGO under adreN’s watch.

Team Liquid hopes new coach moses returns team to CSGO’s elite

Though Liquid climbed to the top of the CSGO scene and even enjoyed a winning streak against rival Astralis, the team started to crumble after a disappointing first-round exit from the StarLadder Berlin Major playoffs. Despite winning five straight live events in a row and maintaining a steady roster throughout, TL just couldn’t quite bring home trophies anymore.

Liquid continued to post generally strong placements, but top-four finishes in international competitions were a step down from the side’s peak. Today, Liquid finds itself fighting with a number of teams for second place in North America behind Evil Geniuses.

Instead of recommitting to its long-standing roster and hoping for a turnaround in the way Astralis did in 2019, Liquid has been looking for a new winning combination. The organization dropped its most tenured player, Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella, in favor of newcomer Michael “Grim” Wince.

The new Team Liquid is set to debut at DreamHack Summer 2020.