Twistzz caused major Team Liquid drama, says ex-coach zews

Luke Warr Published February 7, 2025

Things aren’t going particularly well for Team Liquid on the server and Wilton “zews” Prado discussed some internal drama that could be impacting the team today.

Team Liquid is one of the most visible teams in competitive gaming and has a storied history in Counter-Strike. You wouldn’t know it from looking at the team’s record in the last year, though. While Liquid has shown some flashes of being a credible threat in international events during that time, most notably placing in the top eight at the Shanghai Major in December, the team has been woefully inconsistent.

Veteran coach zews, who joined Liquid in 2023 for a six-month run, presided over a good chunk of this awkward time. In a surprisingly candid interview, he discussed the state of the team, turmoil that marred his run, and what he thinks about the current roster.

zews blames Twistzz, drama with cadiaN, for Team Liquid struggles

zews discussed serious in-fighting within Team Liquid surrounding star player Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken.

The discussion started in explosive fashion, with zews saying that he was added to Liquid to incentivize Twistzz to join the team. He believes that, otherwise, he was set to either remain with FaZe Clan or head to Team Vitality. While Twistzz’ joining the team was a major coup for Team Liquid, the good times didn’t last long.

zews stated that Twistzz and Casper “cadiaN” Moller had a major blowout during scrims. He suggested that the incident itself wasn’t serious, but that the bitterness festered and was never resolved. cadiaN was ultimately benched by Liquid in June 2024, with zews leaving the organization a week later. According to zews, Twistzz actually forced him to scratch cadiaN before being pushed out of the team himself.

This sparked a larger discussion about Twistzz as an in-game leader.

zews suggested that Twistzz doesn’t have what it takes at the moment to be a proper in-game leader. It was said that while Twistzz wants to dictate the roster and call the shots during matches, he doesn’t have the interpersonal skills or personality to fill that role. On the other hand, zews believes cadiaN does.

While Liquid can find success at the regional level and in some international events, zews says that’s the team’s ceiling. Talent and experience can carry the team to the playoffs of a tournament. But it can’t carry them through the playoffs.

Twistzz remains an elite talent, despite Team Liquid’s struggles

Despite any drama, Team Liquid is ultimately willing to hand Twistzz the reins to the team because he remains an elite Counter-Strike talent. He is the lone player to win two Intel Grand Slams; taking the cash prize in 2019 with Team Liquid and 2023 with FaZe Clan.

He was also integral to Team Liquid’s heyday in Counter-Strike. Liquid was the best team in the game by a comfortable margin in 2019, including the team winning seven straight tournaments.

Twistzz rejoining Team Liquid was a major achievement for the organization, as the player actually left FaZe Clan while it was on a hot streak. With the team still being competitive in major events, it’s possible that Team Liquid is willing to take the good with the bad for the time being.