trexx Is Back at Liquid. He's Bringing Kicks With Him.
Team Liquid signed both trexx and Kicks for EMEA Stage 2, replacing wayne and MiniBoo with two players who have already proved they can win together.
Team Liquid announced on June 26 that Nikita "trexx" Cherednichenko and Kimmie "Kicks" Laasner are both joining for Stage 2. trexx returns to Liquid. Kicks gets promoted from Academy. They debut July 15 in Barcelona.
That's two roster moves that actually make sense together.
What Went Wrong in Stage 1
Liquid's Stage 1 wasn't a disaster. One loss in the group stage, clean setup for playoffs. Then they dropped to Vitality, then to Gentle Mates, and went home early. Two close losses and suddenly the roster equation breaks down. Wayne took a break to fly home to Singapore. MiniBoo asked off the lineup himself. Two spots open.
The Vitality Thread
trexx and Kicks won Kickoff 2025 together on Team Vitality. Their run ended 4th at Masters Bangkok. trexx got benched after that, found his way to Liquid for Stage 2 2025, and helped them win EMEA. Kicks stayed on Vitality until November, then signed with Liquid Academy. He stood in for wayne at the opening week of Kickoff 2026 and played well.
They've never played on the same Liquid roster. They're both familiar with the organization. That combination isn't a guess.
The Roster Now
nAts, kamo, and purp0 are the core. All three carried Liquid through a strong group stage. Adding trexx brings back real firepower at the flex slot, and Kicks earns a full starting spot after a year of grinding through the Academy circuit.
The part I keep coming back to: Vitality was the team that knocked Liquid out of Stage 1 playoffs. trexx and Kicks built their names on that exact Vitality foundation. Liquid just imported two pieces of the team that made them go home.
July 15. Let's see.