After over a year away from Team Liquid and CS:GO, Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella has finally returned to the organization today, after months of reported intrigue.
Liquid announced the move through a video that showed a Team Liquid member restoring Nitr0’s Captain America shield, painted black by 100 Thieves when he left in 2020 for its VALORANT roster.
Nitr0 returns to a couple of familiar faces in long-time teammates Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Keith “NAF” Markovic, the latter of which just recently re-signed long-term with Liquid. NA AWPer Joshua “oSee” Ohm and legendary French veteran from Vitality Richard “shox” Papillon round out the rest of the roster.
During his time in VALORANT, nitr0 was a pivotal rifler/controller agent player for 100T, helping them win the North American First Strike event and propelling their deep run into the semifinals of VCT Masters Three Berlin. He played alongside a collection of recognizable former NA CS:GO stars, including Ethan, steel, and former Liquid player Hiko.
The return of Nitr0 and the re-tooling of the Team Liquid roster come before a period in which many fans expect and hope to see a revitalizing of NA Counter-Strike. With Liquid revealing its new player, sets of eyes now turn towards Evil Geniuses, who are expected to announce the signings of autimatic, RUSH, and former Liquid player Stewie.
Both Liquid and Evil Geniuses will debut their new rosters in just a couple of weeks at the BLAST Premier Spring group stage.