Will the negotiations be successful this time?
According to a joint report from Upcomer and VLR.gg, Belgian CS:GO player Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom, currently under contract with Vitality, will be experimenting with Team Liquid's VALORANT team.
Liquid is gearing up to test Nivera, replacing British player James “Kryptix” Affleck, who has been part of the team since the organization entered VALORANT's competition in August 123, when fish2020 signed. The Belgian has been on Liquid's radar before and was close to signing with the team in May, but the deal fell through and the European team hasn't taken any action since.
If Nivera signed with Liquid, he would be playing with his older brother and star ScreaM, who has been playing for Liquid since August 2020 and made a successful transition from Counter-Strike to VALORANT. Nivera has been inactive since March 2021 after Vitality brought him to the bench as a result of Valve's decision to penalize teams that knock out players in the Regional Major Ranking (RMR) circuit.
Liquid fell short of Gambit in the EMEA VCT Stage Three: Challengers Playoffs and were unable to enter the VCT Masters Three Berlin, which kicks off on Friday, September 10.
The European team is currently gearing up for the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier, which will kick off on October 10 and where one team will secure a spot at VALORANT Champions.