French veteran Richard “shox” Papillon, will be leaving the Liquid squad soon. According to Dot Esports, the player instigated the departure by asking the team to dissolve the contract.
According to the source, shox’s decision to quit was made following Liquid’s poor performance at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Legends Stage, when the team failed to win a single match and finished with a 0-3 record. The Frenchman’s choice to depart Liquid was partly driven by travel obstacles between Europe and North America.
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Liquid qualified for the main tournament by winning the Challengers Stage on May 12. Following defeats to G2 Esports and Imperial, Liquid defeated 9z, Complexity, and Astralis. With a top-eight result in the reverse sweep, the team qualified for the main event.
Shox has been a member of Liquid since the start of the year. The team’s finest performance in the last five months was a 5-8th place finish in ESL Pro League Season 15.
Liquid was ousted from the PGL Major competition by Shox’s previous squad, Vitality. Vitality won the series 16-7 on Mirage and 16-11 on Dust II.
Shox left Vitality for Liquid in November after two years with the French team. During his time with Vitality, Shox assisted the team in qualifying for the PGL Major as well as other competitions such as the BLAST Premier World Finals.
Papillon’s resignation report came a week and a half before Liquid’s first match at IEM Dallas 2022, which begins on May 30. There is currently no word on whether the Frenchman will compete in the big competition or if the squad will be compelled to find a substitute.
Also read: IEM Dallas 2022 invited teams announced!
