Team Liquid Part Ways With Daps

By Tit Krajnik

21 Nov 2023

Tit Krajnik 21 Nov 2023

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On Monday, November 20, 2023, Team Liquid announced the departure of coach Damian "daps" Steele
Daps is the second member to leave the team last week
Team Liquid is left with just three active players on its CS roster

Team Liquid (Getty Images)

On Monday, November 20, Team Liquid announced the departure of Damian "daps" Steele from the Counter-Strike 2 roster. Daps left the team just two days after the departure of Robert "Patsi" Isyanov, leaving Liquid with just three active members on its Counter-Strike roster.

Daps leaving the team is hardly shocking, considering Team Liquid is amid a roster restructure, which already saw the departure of Patsi and Aleks "Rainwaker" Petrov, who were cut from the roster last Saturday and at the start of October.

Moreover, Liquid is reportedly also cutting ties with Joshua "oSee" Ohm, who has been linked with a move to NRG Esports amid reports of NRG Esports' return to the Counter-Strike competitive scene.

Even though Team Liquid have yet to confirm or hit at who it would sign to its Counter-Strike roster to fill in the gaps, the North American esports organisation has reportedly been in talks with Felipe "skullz" Medeiros, Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken, and Casper "cadiaN" Moller as potential new signings.

If the reports are correct, only Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis and Keith "NAF" Markovic will remain with the team as Liquid rebuilds its lineup.

Daps joined Team Liquid in June 2022 and quickly found success, winning BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 and leading Team Liquid to the finals of ESL Pro League Season 16 before reaching the semis of BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2022.

In 2023, Team Liquid have found some success early into the year, with a semifinal run at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 and BLAST Premier: Spring American Showdown 2023, but have since not won or come close to winning a single tournament.

Over the last few months, Team Liquid showed signs of struggle, and failed to leave much of a mark in the three tournaments they've attended. Liquid finished IEM Cologne 2023 in 17th-20th, Gamers8 2023 in ninth-16th, and ESL Pro League Season 18 in 17th-20th place.

Since ESL Pro League S18, Team Liquid have appeared in just one event - BLAST Premier: Fall American Showdown 2023 – where they reached the finals.

It remains to be seen who'll replace daps as the new Team Liquid coach or whether the team will manage to sign the three players who have been rumoured to join the squad. However, we should get more information about the future of TL soon.