{"id":35047,"date":"2026-03-13T18:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/?p=35047"},"modified":"2026-03-13T18:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:32:24","slug":"g2-acquire-nertz-as-liquid-sign-malbsmd-in-rare-cs2-player-swap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/g2-acquire-nertz-as-liquid-sign-malbsmd-in-rare-cs2-player-swap\/","title":{"rendered":"G2 Acquire NertZ as Liquid Sign malbsMd in Rare CS2 Player Swap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>G2 Esports<\/strong> and <strong>Team Liquid<\/strong> have traded players, with Mario &#8220;<strong>malbsMd<\/strong>&#8221; Samayoa moving to <strong>Liquid <\/strong>and Guy &#8220;<strong>NertZ<\/strong>&#8221; Iluz joining <strong>G2<\/strong>. This swap could change the direction of both teams before their next international events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This transfer happens at an important time in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.counter-strike.net\/cs2?l=english\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.counter-strike.net\/cs2?l=english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Counter-Strike 2<\/a><\/strong> season, especially for <strong>Liquid<\/strong>. Their spot in the European rankings was putting their chances of qualifying for major events at risk. By adding <strong>malbsMd <\/strong>and focusing on an Americas-based lineup, <strong>Liquid <\/strong>can move back to the Americas regional rankings, which should make qualifying easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">welcome <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/malbsMd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@malbsMd<\/a> \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf9<br><br>Back in NA! We\u2019re excited to have malbsMd join our starting roster at BLAST Open Rotterdam and to bring a new element to our team. <br><br>Thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/G2esports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@g2esports<\/a> for working with us on this trade- the doctor is in! \ud83e\ude7a <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2dZ5vIVdy4\">pic.twitter.com\/2dZ5vIVdy4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Team Liquid CS (@TeamLiquidCS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TeamLiquidCS\/status\/2032441855632359446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 13, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Liquid Returns to America&#8217;s Core<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35050\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/malbs-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mario &#8220;<strong>malbsMd<\/strong>&#8221; Samayoa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This swap is important for <strong>Liquid\u2019s <\/strong>competitive future. Before the trade, they were not ranked high enough in Europe to qualify for upcoming tournaments. By switching back to an Americas-based roster, they have a better chance to qualify for events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This change happens while <strong>Liquid <\/strong>is still playing in early-season events and getting ready for big international tournaments. The team has used stand-in players recently, showing how important it is to settle their roster before important deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding <strong>malbsMd <\/strong>also gives <strong>Liquid <\/strong>a highly aggressive rifler capable of creating space and early-round impact qualities that the team has sometimes lacked in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NertZ Reunites With Familiar Faces on G2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35049\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nertz-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Guy &#8220;<strong>NertZ<\/strong>&#8221; Iluz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For <strong>G2<\/strong>, <strong>NertZ\u2019s <\/strong>arrival brings him back together with former teammates, coach Eetu &#8220;<strong>sAw<\/strong>&#8221; Saha and AWPer \u00c1lvaro &#8220;<strong>SunPayus<\/strong>&#8221; Garc\u00eda. Their past experience together could help <strong>NertZ <\/strong>fit into <strong>G2<\/strong>\u2019s tactics more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NertZ <\/strong>is known as a versatile rifler who can play aggressively at the start of rounds and handle clutch situations late in the game. These skills could help <strong>G2 <\/strong>make better decisions during matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Rare Direct Trade in Counter-Strike 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct player trades between top Counter-Strike teams do not happen often, so the <strong>G2<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>Liquid <\/strong>deal stands out in today\u2019s esports scene. Instead of the usual buyouts or transfers, both teams chose a simple swap to meet their strategic goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Liquid\u2019s <\/strong>main goal is to improve their regional eligibility and balance their roster. For <strong>G2<\/strong>, this move is about boosting their firepower and team chemistry before the next round of top tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Next for Both Teams?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Both teams are set to show off their new rosters at upcoming international events as the <strong>CS2 <\/strong>season heats up. With qualification races getting tougher and big tournaments on the way, this bold trade could have a lasting impact on both organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>G2 Esports and Team Liquid have traded players, with Mario &#8220;malbsMd&#8221; Samayoa moving to Liquid and Guy &#8220;NertZ&#8221; Iluz joining G2. This swap could change the direction of both teams before their next international events. This transfer happens at an important time in the Counter-Strike 2 season, especially for Liquid. Their spot in the European<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":35048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,11],"class_list":{"0":"post-35047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-cs2","9":"tag-cs2-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35051,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35047\/revisions\/35051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}