NertZ: "It will be a good Liquid with or without Twistzz, even though he's one of the best players in the world"

The Israeli rifler is upbeat about Liquid's future despite the upcoming departure of Twistzz.

Liquid announced they would be losing talisman Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken during their FISSURE Playground 2 campaign, but the news seems to have given the team a new lease of life.

They qualified for the playoffs and then went one better against Aurora in the quarter-finals to secure the best result in their recent history despite the uncertainty surrounding the team.

When asked if it's simply down to the squad playing without pressure after their arena victory, Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz disagreed.

"We knew that Twistzz was going to leave before this tournament. For me, it wasn't about pressure, it's about a thing that I don't want to share about.

"But for us, it's like… 'Okay, now we understand kind of what can work for us as a team,'" he shared.

He also spoke about Liquid's future, how the team is taking FISSURE Playground like an RMR, and the upcoming semi-final clash against The MongolZ.

Listen to the interview here.

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You made the top-four here at FISSURE by beating Aurora, one of the highest-ranked teams at the event. How do you feel after another win here in Belgrade?

I think win after win, every one of us is starting to believe that we can win the tournament. I think after the 0-2 start that we had, we changed our... I don't know if it's the playstyle or if it's the mindset, but it's something that gives you positive motivation.

You said you changed the mindset. Is it just about playing with no pressure now, given that this is the last tournament for this team?

No, I don't think so. We knew before we came to this tournament, we knew that Twistzz was going to leave. So for me, it wasn't about pressure, it's about a thing that I don't want to share about. But for us, it's like… 'Okay, now we understand kind of what can work for us as a team.' That's the thing.

How do you feel about this being the best result Liquid had recently? The fact that it comes now, when it's over.

I believe that everything that has already been decided has... How to say it? I would say that these things, even if someone will leave or join us, it's for the better. I'm thinking that Twistzz is an incredible player, he is helping us a lot to win right now. I think he has the most impact on the team. But I think, even if he will leave, I think we will get a new player that will help us. Because we believe what is working for us.

You probably didn't want to lose Twistzz, but do you think that a change had to happen at some point, given the results?

Obviously, we had to make a change. For us, maybe a player [change] was not the answer. It's about our mindset, I would say. But as I said, I think it will be a good Liquid with or without Twistzz, even though he's one of the best players in the world. I believe in everyone.

Talking about the future of Liquid. You went up 15 places in the VRS since you got here at this tournament, which is good for the team's future, as it now looks like you're gonna make the Major. How important is that for you?

This is the most important thing. The goal was to make the Major in this tournament, because basically it was the RMR for us, and we basically made our goal. I think everyone's happy, but we're not satisfied. We want to win this tournament.

You're now in the semi-final. You play a very strong team in MongolZ there, so how do you feel about the upcoming game?

I think MongolZ are the best team in this tournament. I think they have good individuals, they're playing well together. We need to show balls and good chemistry between each other. Also, the individuals that we have in the team, we need to show up.

Because if we don't show up, no matter what, we won't win this game. That is something that's important for us against MongolZ. With my past experience, because I don't think I even won against the MongolZ in my career, so this is something that's important for me, and it's also personal.