On May 17, it was reported Team Liquid is considering a major change to its Counter-Strike 2 roster. However, this news wasn’t met with a warm reception from fans, who see it as an illogical move.
The North American CS2 team is reportedly reviewing the possibility of benching one of their newest additions, cadiaN, according to HLTV. The report notes the decision won’t be made until IEM Dallas 2024, however, which, if it goes through, could be the Dane’s last event under the Liquid banner. The news quickly spread to social media, where fans expressed their anger.
“You’ve gotta to be joking… so potentially bench the IGL and awper,” one Liquid fan said on Reddit. And they’re not alone in their sentiment. Others pointed out how giving such a lineup enough time felt pivotal. “Can’t say I understand getting rid of cadiaN. I’ve always thought that this is a brand new team effectively and that patience is key, and that we’ve been seeing some encouraging improvements lately,” another fan added. “Jesus christ fuck this team,” another wrote.
They’re not wrong about improvements. Liquid had a horrible start to the year and their new journey with this roster since they failed to qualify for PGL Copenhagen CS2 Major. They also didn’t achieve any success at BLAST Premier Spring Groups and Showdown. However, the squad has been improving lately, reaching the quarterfinals at IEM Chengdu 2024 and ESL Pro League Season 19.
More importantly, the Liquid roster started playing more as a cohesive unit, which sparked joy and hope for the future among fans. Therefore, seeing these kinds of reactions is all but surprising.
In the latest Liquid event runs, the two lackluster players in the eyes of the fans were YEKINDAR and skullz. Additionally, as fans already mentioned, cadiaN serves as an IGL and AWPer. With that in mind, this reported move is baffling.
