CSGO: s1mple to leave TL   Liquid star Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev will effectively be seeking a new European team to play on and has stepped down from Liquid’s starting five, Robin Nymann, Liquid’s director of esports, has revealed. Recent news revealed that Ukrainian hotshot and Liquid player Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev would miss attending DreamHack Austin with his team due to supposed visa issues. However, an update tonight from Liquid’s director of esports, Robin Nymann, reveals that severe homesickness from the player and internal concern about Kostyliev’s in-game role in the team (which affected the “team atmosphere”) both combined to effectively remove Kostyliev from the team’s starting five man lineup as he told the organisation he would like to play for a team in Europe instead. The wording of the release also does suggest that Kostyliev was possibly unwilling to return to his newfound home in Los Angeles as “he was looking forward to spending some time in his home country” and Kostyliev then reached out to Liquid with the news about playing for a European team. Therefore, Kostyliev will receive Liquid’s help in seeking a new European team while also remaining under the organisation’s brand as a streamer. As a result, Liquid’s lineup is now:

Spencer “Hiko” Martin Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski Nick “nitr0” Cannella Kenneth “koosta” Suen Eric “adreN” Hoag