LIQUID BENCH cadiaN : "OUR TIME TOGETHER DIDN'T WORK OUT AS WE HOPED"

Casper "⁠ cadiaN ⁠" Møller has been benched by Liquid and moved off the active roster "for the purpose of exploring a transfer," the Dutch organization has announced.

HLTV reported that the Danish captain's future with Liquid was being weighed up in May ahead of IEM Dallas, with the organization pulling the trigger on the move just one day into the tournament break.

Liquid are also reportedly locked in negotiations with FURIA Esports for the transfer of Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros to the Brazilian organization, with talks being positive as all involved parties want to reach an agreement.

cadiaN joined Liquid in December 2023 as a part of the organization's ambitious rebuild of its roster coming into the new year, forming what looked, on paper, like an exciting title contender.

One of the best in-game leaders in recent years, an ever-excellent anchor and supportive player in Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic, an aggressive rifler in Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis, the superstar return of Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken to the organization he rose to acclaim under, the — reportedly expensive — signing of a young prospect in skullz, all backed by the knowledge of veteran coach Wilton "⁠ ZEWS ⁠" Prado.

It looked like a sure-fire combo for success, one that might need a few months to mesh different styles and schools of knowledge, but should surely become title contenders with the names that had been brought together.

But the lineup never met those expectations nor could be consistently counted upon for success, even against domestic North American competition.

The first significant blow came when the team failed to qualify for PGL Major Copenhagen through the Americas RMR, a harsh result early into the lineup's time together, but one that could have been put behind them due to a brutal format and rough draw against Complexity and FURIA Esports .

Results remained sour, however, with the team failing to qualify for IEM Chengdu through the NA qualifier and faltering in BLAST Spring Showdown. They were invited to attend the former event after teams withdrew and made a run to the playoffs in China and at ESL Pro League Season 19, but sources said that the atmosphere within the team was still not positive.

The writing seemed to be on the wall even before Liquid's group stage exit from IEM Dallas following losses to 9z and G2 with a stand-in, but the report of cadiaN being on the chopping block ahead of the event still came as a shock to many.

Pundits and the community had criticized the performance of YEKINDAR and skullz, the former being a far cry from the superstar opener we'd come to know, and the latter clearly struggling to slot into Liquid stylistically, particularly on the T side.

Players on the team had repeatedly pointed towards difficulties in meshing different schools of knowledge throughout their six months together, and Liquid have now pulled the trigger on the first change by benching cadiaN , with skullz reported to also be on the outs.

"I wish we could've done so many things differently," ZEWS said in a post on X. "It is undeniable to me that you have a big heart inside that server and an enormous amount of hunger to win. I genuinely wish you the best and will be rooting for you Cap [Casper]."

Replacements candidates for either player remain unknown, with Liquid's task made all the more difficult with cadiaN occupying both in-game leader and AWPing roles for the team.

Liquid is now:

Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic
Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis
Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros
Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken