YEKINDAR, the super stand-in Team Liquid signed to play at IEM Cologne in place of Richard “shox” Papillon, is considering staying with the North American side on a full-time basis.
In an interview with Dust2.us, YEKINDAR seemed to signal that he would be open to the idea of becoming a full-time member of the Liquid roster if the opportunity was presented to him.
“I just knew that they were changing shox, so they obviously needed the stand-in, and it happened that I had got an agreement with VP that I could stand in,” YEKINDAR said. “It wasn’t maybe at the start on the radar for me, now, after qualifying for playoffs, I don’t know what’s gonna happen, maybe if it’s possible I’m gonna maybe stick with the team.”
The skilled Latvian entry-fragger has been open for offers since May after he moved to Virtus Pro’s bench. He has since helped Liquid to reach the playoffs of IEM Cologne, the last S-tier tournament ahead of the summer player break.
So far, YEKINDAR had a positive impact on the squad as he averaged a 1.03 rating in 10 maps. Possibly his most important attribute has been creating space for Liquid, a move that has allowed ELiGE to play more in late rounds instead of forcing aim duels.
The fans of Liquid have made been pretty vocal across social media channels that they want the team to sign YEKINDAR permanently. The Latvian entry-fragger was the eighth-best CS:GO player in the world in 2021, according to HLTV, and is currently the best player available in free agency.
Liquid made a miraculous run in the lower bracket of the IEM Cologne main stage after losing to Spirit in the opening round. The North Americans defeated 00 Nation, Cloud9, and FURIA consecutively to secure a spot in the quarterfinals against Movistar Riders on Friday, July 15.
