Liquid have announced that Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has returned to their starting lineup for the ECS Season 1 finals and ESL One Cologne. The Ukrainian talent, who has spent the last month with Worst Players, will play two more events for Liquid, replacing Eric “adreN” Hoag, who has been released from his contract. The 18-year-old stepped down from Liquid’s roster in April, with the organisation citing internal issues and severe homesickness as reasons to bench a player that had been instrumental to the team’s semi-final run at MLG Columbus. With Hoag back on the roster after playing at the Major as a sub and Kenneth “koosta” Suen on board, Liquid struggled for form, taking 3rd-4th at DreamHack Austin and 5th-6th at ESL Pro League Finals before being eliminated in ELEAGUE without a single victory. In a statement issued on Facebook, Liquid explained that Hoag’s permanent replacement has already committed to the organisation but, due to unspecified reasons, he will not be able to play for the team anytime soon.

“We are not sure when we’ll be able to tell you guys who it is, but what we can say is that he is not going to be playing ECS Season 1 Finals with us in London, nor attend the ESL One Cologne Major as a part of our roster,” Liquid Head of Esports Robin “Bumblebee” Nymann stated. “It’s unfortunate that he won’t be on board sooner, but we know that you’ll be delighted once he makes his debut.”

To prepare for the ECS Finals, from June 24-26, the team will bootcamp for a week in the Netherlands, where they will return after the event in order to fine-tune their strategy for the ESL One Cologne Major, from July 5-10. Liquid will attend their next two events with:

Spencer “Hiko” Martin Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski Nick “nitr0” Cannella Kenneth “koosta” Suen Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (stand-in)

  [Source: hltv]