YEKINDAR: “I wanna build my own individuality and not come into a complete team”

Rumors have been swirling around YEKINDAR‘s future for months now, in particular following his benching in Virtus.pro, and it has become clear that Liquid are one of the biggest organizations interested in him after they agreed to place Richard “⁠shox⁠” Papillon on the bench following a tough period dating back to the beginning of the year.

While he’s playing with Liquid at IEM Cologne on a stand-in basis, the Latvian and the team has made no secret of there being some interest from both sides to make it a permanent move. In our latest interview from Germany, YEKINDAR spoke to HLTV on the topic, saying he has other offers as well but that Liquid “is up there,” before expanding on what makes the North American team an interesting prospect.

“I don’t necessarily have that many offers, but Liquid is up there,” he said. “It depends on this tournament, how I feel, and what’s gonna happen after this tournament.”

“Maybe I play like shit and Liquid will be the only team that wants me, but obviously it’s still a good team, and the space this team provides for me to be a star, I will take that as a priority, because I wanna build my own individuality and not come into a complete team.”

He also shared his experiences playing alongside Liquid for the past two weeks in preparation for the Cologne appearance and during it, once again praising them for the space he has been given, speaking on the topic of communicating in English for the first time, and more.

Watch the full interview above or on our YouTube channel, where you’ll find all kinds of other video content, including HLTV Confirmed and HLTV Peek episodes, player highlights, and other interviews.