A seismic change to the professional Counter-Strike scene is on the horizon, with a report surfacing today that Team Liquid is looking to potentially move ahead with a European core and even sell their franchise NA stalwart in EliGE. NA fans can’t help but wonder what they’ll do next.
According to a report from Dust2.us, Liquid is “aiming” to sell EliGE to an interested party to make way for Bulgarian rifler Aleks “Rainwaker” Petrov ahead of the launch of CS2. With Liquid also reportedly eyeing Team Spirit rifler Robert “Patsi” Isyanov, the new EU duo alongside Yekindar would effectively establish Liquid as a majority-European roster going forward.
Between the departure of now retired nitr0 and the suddenly imminent potential departure of EliGE, Liquid’s status as a North American bastion of internationally competitive Counter-Strike is set to fall, and many fans are scrambling to figure out what’s going to happen next.
As for EliGE, there’s a small amount of buzz about the possibility of him heading south to Brazil and linking up with FURIA. Heroic’s captain and primary AWPer CadiaN threw out that idea following the report’ of EliGE leaving Liquid’s emergence, and many were quick to jump in as EliGE does speak capable, fluent Portuguese. FURIA has struggled internationally since their magical semifinal run at the IEM Rio Major, and hasn’t claimed an S-Tier trophy yet.
If EliGE were to stay in North America, his top-tier options would be extremely limited for now, with just Complexity and Evil Geniuses as possible destination.
There’s a lot more despair in the Liquid camp, and amongst fans of NA CS as a whole. On the main CS:GO subreddit, one Liquid fan described today as “the day that music died,” with many others posting their frustrations and disappointment. Not all of the online response is purely negative, though, with one Dust2.us writer expressing belief in Liquid coach Damian “daps” Steele’s scouting prowess.
Still, if Liquid is leaving North America, it would be a big loss for the region as excitement and anticipation for CS2 continues to build. Maybe someone new will pick up the pieces?
