Team Liquid are preparing for new beginnings and it seems like Nick "nitr0" Canella will be the victim of changes. Initial reports that the player would be departing have been confirmed and it's looking like nitr0's five-year stay with Liquid will be coming to an abrupt end.
Team Liquid Looking at Life Past nitr0
Nitr0 is a rare specimen in modern CS:GO. He was part of the first ever Liquid CS:GO roster that was established in January 2015 and has remained faithful for over half a decade, taking every role necessary for the betterment of the team. That includes being the in-game leader for nearly three years before just recently relinquishing those responsibilities as 2020 was not going great for TL.
Until next time, friends.
— 100T nitr0 (@nitr0) July 29, 2020
Apparently, stripping nitr0 of IGL duties was not enough for teammates and management and he will be departing sooner than later. It has already been confirmed that nitr0 will be moved to the bench and will remain there past the player break if a new team for him is not found.
- READ MORE: SmithZz retires
His replacement is the star of North America's surprise package Triumph - Michael "Grim" Wince. The 19-year-old rifler is without a doubt a huge talent and has had a breakout year in 2020, so it's not like Team Liquid are shooting in the dark with him.
That being said, nitr0 was one of the best so called "fragging IGLs" in the last three years and by all accounts is a tremendous teammate, which is almost as important as your in-game production in an environment as tense as that of a professional CS:GO team.
- READ MORE: T1 make swag the first Valorant pro player
Team Liquid were struggling to win anything until last year's phenomenal Intel Grand Slam run. Now they're seeking changes after a few shaky tournaments, kicking arguably their most reliant player in the process. This has all the traits of a "mid-table team thinking it's bigger than it is" move. Young Grim could make me eat my words, and I damn sure hope he does, but that doesn't change the fact that right now, this roster change is weird at best and stupid at worst.
In fact, Grim will be able to make a mark right after the player break is over. Team Liquid have included his name in their official DreamHack Open Summer roster. The tournament begins August 8. One event doesn't do much to convince anyone of course, but we gotta start somewhere.
- READ MORE: ESL Pay Tribute to CS Legend Cyx
Team Liquid promised to give durther clarity on the roster changes in due time, which might explain at least somewhat why this move came to be.
We know the news today in cs has taken people by surprise, and we don't want to leave anyone in the dark - but, we just need a little more time to make sure we do what's right by our players and the community pic.twitter.com/b2ANuVPON3
— Steve Arhancet (@LiQuiD112) July 29, 2020
Don't want to stick too much to the changes part of this statement, but hey, there might be more than one coming. We'll certainly be following proceedings in Liquid and let you know whenever there's news on the topic.
