On May 26, Team Liquid and CS:GO superstar nitr0 announced his retirement, with IEM Dallas 2023 serving as his final competition under the team’s guise. Fans immediately started talking about the team’s options for his replacement.
With nitr0 primarily being an in-game leader, the community on Reddit pointed to the IGLs who are or might be on the market and would be an upgrade over “Captain America.” They came to the conclusion there are two European players who would be the perfect replacements for the North American veteran—GamerLegion’s siuhy and OG’s nexa.
The former is a hot prospect on the market after a stunning grand final run at the BLAST.tv Paris Major in May. The young Pole led GamerLegion on a Cinderella run, which no one expected from them. They began their journey in the Challengers Stage with two losses yet managed to come back and make a deep run under siuhy’s command.
Nexa, on the other hand, has been inactive in the OG roster since February. Although he has been reportedly exploring options to return to the competitive scene this summer, according to Dexerto on May 25.
“Man I’m all for keeping it in NA but siuhy would be an insane pickup,” one player wrote on May 28. “Siuhy or nexa could be good options,” another added. While the Pole isn’t officially on the market, he’s already been rumored to join G2 Esports. He’s certainly gaining some interest in the scene and it’s possible he switches teams in the summer.
Liquid most likely won’t announce nitr0’s replacement before their run at IEM Dallas 2023 concludes. The tournament kicks off on May 29.