- Multiple sources have told Dot Esports that Richard “shox” Papillon might be leaving the team
- These rumors come after Team Liquid’s dismal performance at the PGL Major in Antwerp
- The team finished last and shox’s performance was also very poor
French CS:GO veteran Richard “shox” Papillon might be leaving his current organization Team Liquid, due to his and the team’s poor performance.
Shox Might Soon Leave
Richard “shox” Papillon is one of the most renowned CS:GO professional players in the world. The French veteran has been playing since 2006 and has become a living legend in CS:GO Esports, playing for teams like VeryGames, Epsilon, EnVyUs, G2 Esports, Team Vitality, and from December for Team Liquid.
However, some sources have told Dot Esports that the 29-year-old player will be leaving Team Liquid. The reason seems to be the team’s poor performance at the PGL Major in Antwerp, Belgium, where it finished in joint last place alongside Renegades.
Team Liquid originally qualified for the with a Contenders status after managing a 3-1 record at the American RMR (Regional Major Rankings). However, the team performed dismally at the Major, barely managing to make it through the Challengers Stage. Liquid squeezed past with a 3-2 score and grabbed the last available spot for the Legends Stage.
Despite that, Liquid’s fortunes did not change for the better and the team suffered three consecutive defeats against Heroic, FURIA Esports, and Team Vitality. The team did not win a single map as they were eliminated from the tournament and stood last in the Legends Stage, going home with $8 750 and a spot in the 16th place.
Later, shox tweeted out his thought on the Major, congratulating his former organization Team Vitality for their good performance (the team eventually placed second at the Challengers Stage). The player also mentioned he felt burnt out and that he will see what the future holds for him.
Why did Team Liquid Perform So Poorly?
It seems the main reason for Team Vitality’s dismal performance at the Antwerp Major was a lack of individual effort when needed the most. Keith “NAF” Markovic was the only player on the five-man team with an overall HLTV rating of more than 1.0 during the Legends Stage. Meanwhile, three of his teammates, including shox, found themselves amongst the bottom ten players. Shox was last on this list with a 0.64 HLTV rating across four maps along with a -36 K/D ratio.
Perhaps because of this, shox might be wanting a change in environment and he might be thinking of moving to a different team. To add to the speculations the French player might be leaving Team Liquid if the fact that had reportedly been facing issues traveling between North America and Europe.
Team Liquid is slated to play at the upcoming IEM Dallas 2022 which is scheduled to take place from 30th May to 5th June. We might see what shox has decided based on whether we see him play at the event or not.
