EliGE’s reunion with Liquid is now official, yet the chasm between the Liquid he once knew and the one he returns to could not be wider. Apart from NAF, not a single familiar face remains to greet him. Still, in Counter-Strike, nostalgia holds little weight; what truly matters is chemistry, rhythm, and fit. The question that time itself poses is whether EliGE will fit, and perhaps even fix Liquid. And the early answer to the question of him fitting in Liquid tells us one thing: potentially better than Twistzz.
The perks of having EliGE over Twistzz
The last iteration of Liquid stumbled across every category, but faced their gravest woes on the CT-side. The struggle has been in getting early picks and getting into those crucial man-advantage scenarios like 5v4s or 4v3s on the defensive. To better paint the picture of their struggle, in the past three months, Liquid sit dead last among the top 20 in successful opening kills on the CT-side, with a meager 52.7% success rate. Now, a fitting question to ask here would be, how will EliGE fix their CT sides when with him, FaZe were no better?
Well, when put side by side against Twistzz, the contrast between him and the Canadian becomes stark. Twistzz attempted just 16% of opening duels, converting 58% of them. EliGE, however, dives into the fray far more often, over 26% of duels, and finds nearly identical success. And that gives us a 1.18 rating of EliGE that shines above Twistzz’s 1.04. Yet here lies the thorn: EliGE does not naturally play Twistzz’s roles. That conundrum bugs me. How do you use him in his fullest capacity?
NertZ and EliGE have clashing roles on the CT-side
On several maps, EliGE and NertZ will inevitably jostle for the spacetaker roles. And given NertZ’s 1.00 rating of late, combined with the conventional feeling of making the new guy comfortable, it feels inevitable that he will be the one to sacrifice. Starting with Mirage, EliGE is a connector player, which collides with NertZ’s natural position, and may push him perhaps toward Short.
Again on Ancient, mid control has belonged to NertZ, but he may be nudged toward B instead, where Twistzz played the rotator spot. On Nuke, there is a slight catch. EliGE has long relished playing outside, though in his last few maps for FaZe, he shifted toward upper. There is a chance NertZ gets to keep Outside on Nuke, especially if it was EliGE’s choice to change spots in FaZe, which I sorely doubt. Now moving over to maps like Dust2 and Inferno, however, continuity seemingly looks promising for both NertZ and EliGE, as the American can reprise his FaZe roles as the A rotator. All this is still working under the assumption that NertZ will be the one taking the hit, and should give Liquid a better look than if it were the other way around.
EliGE’s firepower will help Liquid convert T-side rounds
Compared to FaZe, Liquid may prove a more natural habitat for EliGE. Much like in Complexity, where he was once untouchable, Liquid can build themselves around his energy. FaZe brimmed with aggressive rifles, but on Liquid, EliGE can embody the space-taker roles without redundancy. Even on the T-side, his presence is something Liquid desperately need. NertZ has dulled of late, but EliGE’s firepower can fill that gap. Twistzz has always leaned more toward a support-rifler than a true star, but EliGE can be more.
Even during his FaZe tenure, T-sides very rarely hampered FaZe. Now, with NAF rediscovering his form in the second half of the season, emerging as Liquid’s second-highest T-rated player, the prospect of an NA one-two punch is tantalizing. The opener and the closer, in sync, could conjure the kind of magic that finally lifts Liquid from the bottom five in T-side round wins among top 20 teams. Still, paper victories are only ink until proven on the server.
The storm ahead for Liquid
Role clashes loom as the first tempest siuhy and company must weather. Growing pains are inevitable, but this is no offseason, and Liquid no longer enjoy the safety net of the Americas VRS. Beyond that, the age-old question clings to EliGE: consistency. When you glance across this roster, no pillar offers stability. Even NAF, now resurgent, endured a dreadful first half to the point of near dismissal. Meanwhile, NertZ and ultimate have drifted to a subpar level. That is how Liquid have swung from beating FaZe, Aurora, and nearly Vitality, to tumbling against VP.Prodigy and Sashi. And with EliGE, that volatility may sharpen rather than soften.
In the end, however, Counter-Strike has a way of silencing theories with the truth that unravels on the server. Liquid need momentum, to wash away the gloom they have been enduring lately. Their chance comes in just two weeks against top-tier teams, when they face the crucible of CAC 2025.
