Team Liquid to Compete at PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Without a Coach
AdreN explains his situation.
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Team Liquid faces a huge blow as they will be travelling to Stockholm without their coach Eric "adreN" Hoag. The 31-year-old will be sitting out the first CS:GO Major, taking place after more than two years, in preparation for the birth of his child. In his absence, Liquid's general manager Steve "jokasteve" Perino has stepped in as the coach for the duration of the tournament.
This is bound to be a huge setback for Team Liquid who managed to attain a Legend Status for PGL Major Stockholm 2021, finishing second overall on the RMR 2021: North America leaderboard with 4028 points to their name.
The team has looked solid in recent tournaments placing third at IEM Fall 2021: North America, followed by a strong run through the BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2021 to qualify for the Fall Finals.
AdreN will not be a part of Liquid's CS:GO lineup for PGL Major Stockholm 2021
Team Liquid's coach, adreN, will be missing out on the upcoming CS:GO Major in preparation for the birth of his child. The experienced coach who rejoined Liquid in May earlier this year broke the announcement via an Instagram post stating that,
I will be sitting out the Major due to the upcoming timing of my son's birth. Jokasteve will be taking over the reigns while I'm gone. First Major in over two years and with a crowd is going to be so hype and I'm sad to be missing it, but I would never miss this moment with Morg Hoag (adreN's wife).Eric "adreN" Hoag
AdreN has worked with Liquid for a long time now, both as a player and as a coach. His first stint as a coach lasted for around 20 months from December 2018 to August 2020, during which Liquid became the second CS:GO team to win the Intel Grand Slam in a record 63 days.
Following his departure, Liquid's results at the international stage started to dwindle. AdreN returned to his former post in May 2021. Though the team's struggle continued, they kept fighting to finally find some stability with a couple of strong performances leading up to the Major.
AdreN's presence on the team as the coach seems substantially vital for Team Liquid. His absence from the big event is a huge blow for the side. However, Jokasteve is no stranger to this role having stood in for the side as an interim coach at previous tournaments like ELEAGUE Premier 2018.
It will be interesting to see how far Liquid manages to go at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021. The team carries the hopes for North America especially considering Keith "NAF" Markovic and Jake "Stewie2K" Yip have showcased stellar performances in the recent weeks.
