Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas will return to Counter-Strike after his departure from Extremum last October, linking up with Renegades ahead of their opening match at the IEM Katowice Play-In — but only as a temporary fifth.
Sources close to the team revealed to Snowball Esports that the former 100 Thieves and Extremum rifler would only be representing RNG at IEM Katowice at this stage, set to begin February 15.
Renegades remain on the hunt for a permanent fifth following the departure of Liam “malta” Schembri after the team completed their international run at the end of the 2021 season.
It’s the second change inside of a month for a top tier Oceanic line-up, following the departure of Order’s Ricardo “Rickeh” Mulholland after two years at the organisation.
Order will be trialling Luke “ekul” Bailey, formerly of Paradox, with the 26-year-old to debut with the squad at ESL Challenger 48 in Europe later this week.
Snowball Esports can confirm that changes for OCE’s top squads won’t end there, with more roster swaps expected following the return of Renegades (IEM Katowice), Order (ESL Challenger 48) and LookingForOrg (ESL Pro League S15) in March.
After their top four finish at the StarLadder Berlin Major, Liazz and the Renegades roster joined 100 Thieves, with the team picking up right where they left off at IEM Beijing, finishing runners-up to Astralis.
Glimpses of their Major playoff runs would be seen during their tenure in Los Angeles, but for a team that had competed almost exclusively offline for the better part of two years, the transition online as the COVID pandemic raged proved too much, with the line-up departing 100T in late 2020.
Liazz and the bulk of 100T would join Russian-backed org Extremum, but despite a more-than-capable Hansel “BnTeT” Ferdinand replacing the Complexity-bound Justin “jks” Savage, the squad failed to create waves in Europe.
Their sixth place finish at IEM Fall North America—their last chance at qualifying for the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major—capped off a disappointing year for the Extremum outfit, with the roster benched at the conclusion of the season.
Liazz faced criticism from pundits throughout his time overseas. Between huge expectations after a breakout 2018 at Order, a massive move to the U.S. and a transition into a completely new role under new leadership, the star rifler couldn’t consistently replicate the numbers that had seen him rise to the top of Australian Counter-Strike in 2018.
However, it’ll be familiar ground he returns to at Renegades, albeit temporarily. Liazz had previously competed with the bulk of the current RNG line-up as far back as five years ago.
Together with Jordan “Hatz” Bajic, Simon “Sico” Williams & Alistair “aliStair” Johnston, Liazz took home multiple national titles under Kings Gaming Club in 2017 and Order in 2018.
It remains to be seen in what capacity he will be utilised in Joshua “INS” Potter & coach David “Kingfisher” Kingsford’s system at Renegades, but it’ll be a baptism by fire, with the team opening their 2022 season at the IEM Katowice Play-In.
The Renegades 2022 roster is now:
- Joshua “INS” Potter
- Simon “Sico” Williams
- Jordan “Hatz” Bajic
- Alistair “aliStair” Johnston
- Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas (stand-in)
- David “Kingfisher” Kingsford (coach)
