Team Liquid has officially added Michael “Grim” Wince to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, the European esports organization announced today. The 19-year-old replaces veteran Nick “nitr0” Cannella on the active lineup. This announcement comes just a few days after the move was initially reported by DBLTAP.
Nick “nitr0” Cannella first joined Team Liquid in 2015, as part of the organization’s original Counter-Strike roster. Nitr0 has played under the Team Liquid banner for most of his professional career, acting as a rifler, main AWPer, and in-game leader during his tenure with the organization.
Under nitr0’s leadership, Team Liquid won IEM Sydney 2019, DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019, and ESL One Cologne 2019, among other championships. The team ran away with the second season of the Intel Grand Slam, taking home the $1,000,000 prize in just 63 days. Liquid reached a peak of number one in the World Rankings, becoming the first North American team to do so.
As nitr0 steps down from the active Team Liquid lineup, his place will be taken by former Triumph player Michael “Grim” Wince. Grim joined Triumph in late 2019, having previously played for The Quest. Triumph placed 1-2nd in Season 33 of MDL, and later second in WINNERS League Season 4 and Mythic Invite League Season 1. The team also secured a win over Cloud9, along with ties against 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses during the BLAST Spring Showdown.
Grim turned heads during a cs_summit 6 regional qualifier match against MIBR, in which he secured 123 kills across the three-map series. The opening map of Overpass saw 59 total rounds of play, the young star topping the scoreboard with 64 kills. Grim led the team to victory on map two with 36 kills, though Triumph were unable to secure the series victory in the end.
This is the first roster change Team Liquid has made since adding Jake “Stewie2K” Yip in late 2018. The American lineup currently stands at ninth in the World Rankings. The team is scheduled to compete in DreamHack Open Summer, ESL One Cologne, ESL Pro League Season 12, and IEM New York in the coming months.
Grim will make his Team Liquid debut next week, in DreamHack Open Summer North America. Team Liquid will take on Ze Pug Godz in their opening match.
Source: Team Liquid