EliGE and Twistzz Leading Team Liquid in North American Counter-Strike
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Russel “Twistzz” VanDulken have been instrumental in Team Liquid’s success in North American Counter-Strike. Despite facing tough competition, they continue to perform at a high level.
Liquid’s journey at the ECS Season Five Finals came to an end when they were defeated by the current number one team in the world, Astralis. Liquid lost to Astralis in the Group A winners’ match and twice in the grand finals. However, they redeemed themselves with victories against Fnatic and NRG Esports, showcasing their strength.
Despite Astralis’ dominance, Liquid is still considered the number two team worldwide in Counter-Strike.
Related: Astralis win their second consecutive title over Liquid at ECS Season 5
EliGE and Twistzz recently participated in a press conference before the ECS Season Five Finals, where they discussed their team’s rise to the top. They spoke with , Blitz Esports, Unikrn, and VP Esports, explaining the strategies that have contributed to their success.
When asked about their unconventional AWP setups, EliGE explained that their strategy can still achieve the same results as a traditional primary AWPer. He stated, “You can do anything that you can with an AWP with a rifle. It’s not going to be the same exact way, but there’s always a way around to make the end result the same.” Other teams like C9 and FaZe have also adopted similar strategies.
In terms of the North American scene, Twistzz sees Liquid as the number one team to beat. Compared to NRG’s gradual improvements and C9’s recent struggles, Liquid is poised to maintain their position at the top for a while, as long as they continue to perform well in CS:GO matches. Although they didn’t perform well at StarSeries before the ECS Finals, Twistzz revealed that the team used the event as a “mental reset” to overcome fatigue.
Liquid added Epitacio “TACO” de Melo from SK Gaming to their roster in April, and the transition has been relatively smooth for the team. Communication and articulation were initially challenging for both TACO and the team, especially with the language switch from Portuguese to English. However, they have managed to overcome these issues. In contrast, TACO’s former team, SK Gaming, also faced similar challenges when they trialed Jake “Stewie2k” Yip and switched to English.
“TACO shared his experience with us a lot,” Twistzz explained. “He’s trying to teach us. Sometimes, he doesn’t express things in the correct way, which makes it difficult for us to understand. But I believe he has had a significant impact on the team.”
EliGE, Twistzz, Team Liquid, North American Counter-Strike, Astralis, ECS Season Five Finals, CS:GO, AWP setups, NRG Esports, C9, Epitacio “TACO” de Melo, SK Gaming, communication.