Team Liquid has changed nearly its entire Halo roster and coaching staff, only retaining former team captain Tyler "Spartan" Ganza and analyst Tyler "TiberiusAudley" Hicks. Joining its roster is former Team EnVyUs player Tim "Rayne" Tinkler, who will now be the team's captain, and former Cloud9 players Hamza "Commonly" Abbaali and Zane "Penguin" Hearon. Rounding out the lineup will be new head coach Kory "Symbolic" Arruda, formerly of Cloud9.
The move comes ahead of the Halo Championship Series (HCS) fall season and after the team survived the HCS relegation tournament with a victory over Denial Esports. The new players will replace Braedon "StelluR" Boettcher, Kevin "Eco" Smith, and Dan "Danoxide" Terlizzi.
"I've been talking to [Team Liquid] for a long time now and I'm happy that the time for us to work together has finally come," Symbolic said in a press release today. "I've always admired the passion they have for the game and with all the resources they'll be providing, I know we'll reach greater heights. The team wants nothing more than to win, and I know we will achieve our goals as part of Liquid. I'm looking forward to this upcoming season."
With the acquisition of Commonly and Penguin, Team Liquid says it will take over the Cloud9 HCS spot; each slot is carried by two members of the previous season's roster. Liquid says that its vacant spot in the league will go to Eco.
Despite a heavy roster change, the organization says it's confident about team chemistry because several of these players have worked together in the past. Penguin and Commonly played together on Renegades and Cloud9 during the summer, and Penguin also played with Rayne on Team eLevate earlier in the year.