Liquid looked to jks, Snax to complete IEM Cologne roster
The start of Damian "daps" Steele's tenure with Liquid is reportedly off to a bumpy start as Dust2.us understands the team have been scrambling to find a fifth to field for IEM Cologne. Rosters are set to lock tomorrow for the prestigious event, leaving Liquid searching high and low for a suitable replacement. Dust2.us is aware that Liquid have been pursuing a number of avenues, both domestic and international, to fill the gap left by the benching of Richard "shox" Papillon.
Of the multiple candidates Liquid tried to bring on board for Cologne, Dust2.us understands that Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski was a leading candidate after he rolled back the year with ENCE at IEM Dallas. However, due to be registered with ENCE in the ESL Pro Tour, Liquid are locked out from using him for 120 days unless they were to offer him a contract.
The other lucrative stand-in Liquid were targeting for Cologne is benched Complexity player Justin "jks" Savage. However, sources tell Dust2.us that the deal fell through after Complexity asked for a loan fee from Liquid, which was rebuffed as Liquid looked towards other options.
Snax was reportedly not the only European option that Liquid considered for IEM Cologne. Sources tell Dust2.us that Liquid was also interested in utilizing a player from Dignitas to complete their lineup, but this ultimately did not bear fruit. It is unknown if the recent release of the Dignitas squad from their contracts may change Liquid's ability to utilize one of these Scandinavian players. It is worth noting that Fnatic recently enlisted legendary player Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg for Pinnacle Cup while the signing of Ludvig "HEAP" Alonso was still being worked out.
Dust2.us is also aware that Liquid reached out to Evil Geniuses in their pursuit for a fifth player, with Liquid hoping to make use of a player from the recently signed Carpe Diem squad. However, Liquid ultimately had the request denied by the rival organization.
At the time of publication, there is less than 24 hours before IEM Cologne rosters will lock. Should Liquid fail to secure a fifth, the team will likely field daps in what will likely be viewed as a bad omen after having to stand-in during his previous coaching job with Evil Geniuses.
Regardless of whether Liquid find a stand-in or opt to utilize daps, Liquid will next be back in action on July 7th, when the group stage of IEM Cologne kicks off.
