Mareks \u201cYEKINDAR\u2060\u201d Galinskis was a big boost for Team Liquid during the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne, and the North American team have opted to retain his services. <\/p>\n
Team Liquid said YEKINDAR will return as a stand-in for the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive BLAST Premier Fall Groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Latvian replaced Richard \u201cshox\u201d Papillon ahead of the IEM Cologne in July<\/a> and has received high praise for his contributions. His aggressive style of play helped the team reach the quarterfinals of the tournament, their best showing since they underwent a roster change to start the year.<\/p>\n Since May 23, the 22-year-old has been riding the Virtus Pro bench. His last appearance with the team was during the IEM Katowice<\/a>, where they finished sixth after getting swept by G2 Esports in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Despite still being on an active contract with Virtus Pro, YEKINDAR has expressed his interest in joining Team Liquid permanently. During the IEM Cologne, he expressed his desire to stick with the NA-based team.<\/p>\n “I just knew that they were changing shox, so they obviously needed the stand-in, and it happened that I had got an agreement with VP that I could stand in. It wasn\u2019t maybe at the start on the radar for me, now, after qualifying for playoffs, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna happen, maybe if it\u2019s possible I\u2019m gonna maybe stick with the team.”<\/p>\n To pull that off, Liquid might be required to pay a hefty fee to VP to activate a buyout. However, both parties are interested in forming a union, and that could happen.<\/p>\n Liquid’s general manager Steve Period has given an update on the YEKINDAR situation. Via his Twitter page, he revealed that the organization is working with YEKINDAR to seal a long-term deal.<\/p>\n “We are working with @yek1ndar to hopefully have some good long term news soon”<\/p>\n We are working with @yek1ndar<\/a> to hopefully have some good long term news soon ^_^ https:\/\/t.co\/PXEC6SB5ro<\/a><\/p>\n — Steve Perino (@jokasteve) August 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n