mithR: "Twistzz has the potential to be one of the best IGLs we've ever seen"

The Danish coach also shared his first impressions of ultimate and jks.

New Liquid coach Torbjørn "⁠mithR⁠" Nyborg has heaped praise on Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken, saying that he believes the Canadian player can become one of the finest in-game leaders in the history of the game.

Twistzz has taken over the team's reins after an off-season rebuild that saw Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller, Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros and head coach Wilton "⁠zews⁠" Prado depart the squad.

This will be Twistzz's first time leading a team, and many in the scene have expressed concern about how the role will impact a player who remains at the peak of his powers. The 24-year-old has appeared in five of the last six HLTV Top 20 rankings, and he averaged an impressive 1.22 rating during a frustrating season for Liquid.

mithR admitted that he, too, had some reservations at first about Twistzz's decision to become the IGL, but he is now amazed at how natural the role seems to feel for the Canadian.

"When I first heard he was going to be ingame leader, I was actually a bit nervous and wasn’t sure this was the right choice," mithR told HLTV. "I had seen before people who thought they wanted to be in-game leader, but then they had to show up prepared every time for practice or official, so they have the full responsibility. It is very cool in the beginning, but not much fun when it becomes your everyday.

"After having worked three weeks with Twistzz, my impression right now is that he has the potential to become one of the biggest and best in-game leaders we’ve ever seen. My reason is that his calling is very clear and he has a great ability to learn from mistakes, understand what to do better and receive input, filter it, and match it to his vision of the game.

"This is not something I have experienced on this level before. And I say this as someone who has worked with a lot of in-game leaders in my career."

Liquid's signing of Roland "⁠ultimate⁠" Tomkowiak as the new AWPer is widely regarded as a big gamble. The Polish player has never competed at the highest level, with the upcoming BLAST Premier Fall Groups being only his second LAN event on record.

mithR understands the skepticism around ultimate but argues that Twistzz did "a really great scouting job" to find the Polish player.

"It is not a coincidence the choice fell on him," he noted. "When I talked to Twistzz about how he had seen ultimate's demos and why he decided it should be him, I had no reason not to believe him.

"When I saw his demos, my impression was of course very positive. His mechanical level is very high. Time will tell if he is ready for tier 1 — it is something different. I absolutely think he is going to be challenged in a way he is not used to.

"There are some tendencies and habits in tier 1 you can’t get away with the same way you can in tier 2. But from what I have seen the last two/three weeks in practice, he has convinced me and the team that he has got what is needed."

Liquid have been placed in Group D of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, along with Natus Vincere, BIG and Virtus.pro. Wednesday's series against the Russian side will be Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage's first competitive match in almost ten months, and mithR admitted that the Australian is still trying to rediscover his best form.

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024
31/07/2024	Virtus.pro 19:30 Liquid	Match

"The first two weeks, there was quite a big development in his level," mithR said. "He has gotten some roles that are new for him, and it has been some time since he last played at the highest level on a team level.

"It's nice that he kept up his level and is very familiar with CS2 by playing a lot of FACEIT. But playing on a team is different. From what I have seen and the development I’ve seen, the last two weeks have been really positive."