There's no place like home: EliGE returns to Team Liquid

Nowadays, it’s hard even to remember a time before everyone in CS knew EliGE’s name. But 10 years ago, when he first joined Team Liquid, he was an unknown quantity, a teenager just starting out. Over the next 8 years, he would remain with the team and establish himself as one of North America’s best CS talents. He was instrumental in Team Liquid achieving the Intel Grand Slam, which they accomplished within one calendar year, making them the fastest team ever to achieve this feat.

EliGE departed Team Liquid in 2023 and spent the next two years playing for Complexity and FaZe Clan. Meanwhile, Team Liquid CS carried on without him, and despite the high caliber of players who later joined the roster, for a time there seemed to be an EliGE-shaped hole in the team, one that nobody could fill.

Except EliGE himself, that is — and after his 2 years away, the timing was right for him to rejoin Team Liquid CS and try to write a brand new chapter for both himself and the team. We spoke to EliGE about his feelings regarding returning to the organization where he first cut his teeth and how he thinks he can help change the team’s fortunes. After all, there’s no place like home.

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So, how are you feeling about rejoining Team Liquid?

I think that Team Liquid has always been the best org to me. It's the org that I started my Counter-Strike career with, pretty much, and have been with for most of it. And we had a lot of really good highs. [I had] a lot of good learning moments, not just as a player, but as a person as well.

You joined Team Liquid when you were, like, 17, right? It’s been a pretty long time since then. What does it mean to be coming back to this org where you had your big break?

It definitely means a lot to be back at the org. It's an org that I've looked up to ever since my Starcraft days. And I think it's an organization that all of esports kind of looks up to. That's still how I feel. 

Liquid is a great team in Counter-Strike right now, and I think that they have had so many close games this whole year. There's just been something that's been keeping them from getting over that final hump. And I think that I can help get the team over that hump. I'm really excited to be part of that.

The first time, you were with Liquid for eight years. You probably grew and changed a lot during that time. How do you think you've grown in the time you were gone?

The amount of time that I was on Liquid was substantial. Just going from a teenager to becoming an adult, and having to go through all the different hardships of being on a competitive team, where there are highs and lows, and having to figure out how to become better as a person… It's always been a learning process. 

With that being said, being on the team for so long, you're not really going into brand new lineups where you have to start from scratch. As I've been away, I went on to Complexity, and then went on to FaZe, and those are all completely new players I never played with before, which was a really different experience. And I had to figure out how best I could fit into those spots and how I could have an impact on the team. 

It was a little bit different for both of them. With Complexity, I was going into a team that was a little less experienced. I felt like there needed to be a bit more guidance, and [I needed] to take on that role of being a leadership figure and try to find a good balance, tactically. The guys already there had a lot of ideas, and it was just a meshing of those styles and trying to find the give and take of what was best for us. And I think that we did a pretty good job on that roster. I can look back at that time fondly.

And then with FaZe, I was going into a team with a bunch of very experienced players. I was just trying to find my impact where I could, see what I could do to help the team win, and trying to do what they needed of me there. So those were different experiences, and I think that it's all very valuable in the grand scheme of things.

Read more — EliGE's announcement and very first interview with Team Liquid

A big reason why you're coming back to TL is our head coach, Flashie. Can you talk about your relationship with him and the role that you think you will play in building out the team’s new systems?

Flashie and I already kind of knew each other because he was the coach of my fiancé's team, CLG Red, in the past. We’re already familiar with each other, and I've always thought he was a smart guy. We talked more about the game, how we see things, and just hearing about the structure on Liquid was really enticing to me, because I feel like we’re speaking the same Counter-Strike. I think that when we're all on the same page about how we want to communicate ideas and how we want to go about things, it just makes things a lot easier.

For my role, I'm going to see what I need to do on the team, because I think I need to shape myself to be what the team needs. So, if the team needs someone who's a louder voice, taking charge a little bit more, kind of how I was on Complexity, then I'll do that. Obviously, I'm going to have my ideas — that'll never change. I'm always going to be trying to offer up solutions, trying to be really active for my position, being a very malleable person and player. And I really believe in the structure of everything I've heard on Liquid. 

The team has a lot of really strong players. A lot of things that look like they can line up really well for us to win championships. So, I'm just going to be trying to fit in as well as I can and have a good relationship with all the guys. The one thing that I really like is having a good relationship with the coach and the IGL, being able to talk to them as much as I can about different ideas that I have, or ways that we can improve things. And I think that's also what Flashie and siuhy want, too.

This year, a big concern around Team Liquid CS has been the lack of a true entry fragger. How do you feel about coming back to fill that role, and how do you think your play style will mesh with the other players on the team?

I'm definitely a very aggressive player. I like going in. I like finding openings. I wouldn't say that I'm a crazy entry, just going in every single round, but I do like finding entries where I can. I'm a little bit more aggressive than most of the guys naturally are, and I think that's a big thing, because players usually have their style that they’ve played with throughout their careers, and it takes some time to change that. You're always going to have that semblance of how you initially played. So, I'll be able to help bridge the gap between players who are naturally more passive. 

And I don't think that everybody is, like, crazy passive, but just having that extra bump of someone that's down to go in, down to find different ways of how we can make it easier to go into the sites, or find openings — I think that's where I definitely shine. And I think that it should definitely help, and that's why I'm super excited to get started with the guys.

Apparently, you guys are going to be playing this weekend, so it’s a pretty quick turnaround. How are you feeling about that?

It's up against the clock in terms of getting ready in time, especially with VRS implications and trying to get in the games that I can before the roster lock for the major. It's obviously not going to be enough time for me to be fully incorporated, but I want to be showing my best face. That's just how I am as a competitor. I never want to go into a tournament not being ready. 

I've been trying to just work on myself individually as much as I can, from a mechanical perspective. I’m trying to work on things that I wasn't really able to focus on before, because I think when you change things mechanically, you can't really give things a good shot, while you always have to be ready to compete the next day. So I think that it's been fun for me to focus on my mechanics in that way.

In terms of tactics, I've just been watching the games, seeing what's up. I'm definitely going to be putting in some extra work with Flashie and siuhy outside the server, or NertZ — whoever I need to talk to. Just trying to put in as many hours as I can before the tournament starts. I have to put in as much work as possible trying to figure out the system that they have, the positions, everything. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm not super worried about that part. 

Once this announcement comes out, there's probably going to be a lot of talk about it, and a lot of expectations placed on you. Are you feeling any pressure there?

I feel like I've already been scrutinized pretty heavily over my career, so it's not going to be anything that's new to me. And, you know, pressure is a privilege. All eyes are on me, and that's a good thing, right? I think that everybody wants to see how I'm doing. People have been especially supportive of me in the last few months, which has been really nice. It definitely keeps me going, and I thank the fans who have been putting their support out there for me. It definitely makes me happy. 

It is a little bit harder when times are tough and you're not really getting that same support, and it might be more of a negative wave towards you, but I do think that pressure is a privilege, and everyone's just really excited. They want to see what we can do. They want to see what I can do on the team, and I want to show them. For me, it’s more about how close the roster deadline is for the VRS. But in the long term, I'm super excited to get started, and the pressure is going to be there, and that's fine.

Is there anything that you would like to say to Liquid fans and the fans of you who have followed you around to these other teams?

I'm super excited to be back on Liquid. I'm sure all the fans are going to be excited to see me wearing blue again with the guys. And I'm hoping to have a new chapter that's going to be great for everybody. I'm optimistic. I'm feeling really great about how everything has been going. I’m excited to get started, and I'm happy for all the support that fans have been giving me recently. And I hope that they'll continue following me to Liquid.

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