Team Liquid signs on rookie to VALORANT roster ahead of EMEA Stage One

Team Liquid's recent roster move mere weeks before the start of VCL 2025 - EMEA Stage 1 surprised the competitive VALORANT scene, but it seems like the popular organization is still making moves that will make or break their upcoming performance in Stage One.

According to reporter Alejandro Gomis, the team has reached a verbal agreement with HGE Esports' Maikls "SerialKiller" Ždanovs to be their fifth member as they battle for a chance to represent the region at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025. He will be replacing Maks "kamyk" Rychlewski after only three months, markind the end of this iteration of Liquid's roster.

Banking on a rookie

According to Gomis' reports, kamyk's future isn't set in stone yet, since he is already in talks with other VCT teams and could be playing for another organization this year. There is a possibility that the 21-year-old stays on Liquid's bench. Meanwhile, Serial is a young prospect that hasn't seen any VCT play—he has only played in VCL 2025 - Spain Rising Stage 2, and in VCL 2025 - EMEA Stage 1. He had the most MVP awards in Spain's Challenger league and the highest KD of any player in the league. Serial had the third-highest kill average per map at 18.8, but his stats did drop a bit when HGE Esports competed in the EMEA Challengers league, with his KD lowering to 1.05, and his kill average dropping to 15.6.

If he does join Liquid for Stage One, this will be his first try against top-tier VALORANT players, which could be a hefty risk for the organization since they must place in the top three to qualify for Masters Toronto. There were reportedly two other players in the mix to join Team Liquid: David "DaviH" Cruz from CGN Esports or Liquid Academy player Patryk "NINJA" Koczyba before the management chose Serial as their final player.

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