Team Liquid’s new roster for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive could be a mix of old and new faces.
Due to an overall unsatisfactory performance in the 2021 season, Team Liquid’s CSGO division has already announced plans to make major roster changes. But that initial plan may have changed due to the team’s excellent showing at BLAST Premier: World Final. The future of Liquid CSGO is truly up in the air, but certain potential changes have already been recognized by the associated figures and players involved.
Before the BLAST Premier: World Final event, Team Liquid’s Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski officially stated that his team had severe communication problems. He also stated that the team was already in the process of moving on from some current players and scouting out new talent.
“We all know we’re going to be making changes. It’s not going to be our roster that we’re sticking with.” said ELiGE.
Things got so bad that, according to fellow Liquid veteran Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip, the team hadn’t even practiced as a group ahead of the BLAST Premier: Fall Finals. That all but guarantees that the Liquid organization has already decided which players will get the ax.
As for what exactly the communication issues are, it is possibly related to the current tactical situation between ELiGE and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo. The pair are known as two of the brightest strategic minds to emerge in the CSGO scene. FalleN is currently listed as the Team Liquid captain, but ELiGE held that position for years before the godfather of Brazilian Counter-Strike joined the roster. Considering that the most likely new addition is an AWPer, FalleN is likely out. FalleN himself has made some comments that point to an exit.
Team Liquid’s new CSGO roster could look like this
If the rumor mill turns out to be accurate, Team Liquid will most likely retain its core trio. Based on early reports, the core roster could look something like this.
- Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip
- Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
- Keith “NAF” Markovic
- Joshua “oSee” Ohm
- Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella
The most speculated addition to the squad is Joshua “oSee” Ohm. The American AWPer played a massive role in Extra Salt’s North American dominance after Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses transferred to play in Europe. Bringing oSee in on the AWP would most likely mean FalleN out of Team Liquid.
The other addition is even more speculative. nitr0 was a highly-respected North American player who left the game to play competitive Valorant. 100 Thieves recently announced that nitr0 had left the organization on uncertain terms. If nitr0 does return to play for Team Liquid CSGO, it will be the first time a player has left for pro Valorant and returned to play CSGO.
nitr0 is also known as a strong AWP player, which could create a mixed fit should oSee join the team. And there have been rumblings of Stewie2k leaving along with FalleN. But until Team Liquid makes public its future plans, fans will be forced to speculate.
