Team Liquid lets nAts explore offers for the 2027 VCT season

"LFT for the 2027 VCT season." Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin posted that at 08:18 UTC on October 15, 2026: "I’m still in talks with Team Liquid, but they’ve also given me permission to explore my options for next year. Main roles: IGL / Sentinel. Open to opportunities across all VCT regions." (X)

He published a contact on the same post and named no other club. IGL is the in-game leader. VCT is the Valorant Champions Tour.

What the October 15 post actually asks for

LFT is how a player flags that they are looking. Alone, it gets read as a finished split. nAts put a second sentence under it: talks with Team Liquid are still going, and the permission is to explore next year.

No buyout figure is in the post. He also did not fence the search inside Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the league on his Team Liquid line since November 11, 2022.

Victor Goossens answers the same afternoon

Victor Goossens, founder and co-CEO of Team Liquid, quoted the post at 17:08 UTC the same day. "Maybe needless to say: we would love for nAts to play for TL next year so this is not due to a lack of interest," he wrote. "Regardless of our ambition to work with him we of course support Aiaz' desire to see what is out there in the off season." (X)

Interest has not dropped, and he says the club will support a look around in the off-season. He names no replacement. In that second sentence the given name is spelled Aiaz, not the Ayaz on the player page.

The inactive tag on Liquipedia

Liquipedia’s history, read on October 16, 2026, runs Team Liquid from November 11, 2022 to October 15, 2026, then "TL (Inactive)" on October 15. Ayaz Akhmetshin, born July 1, 2002, is still introduced there as the Russian in-game leader currently playing for the club. (Liquipedia)

An inactive row is a wiki label, not a clause from the club and not a contract. It shares the post’s date. It does not name a 2027 team.

Titles he takes into a 2027 conversation

On August 30, 2026, Liquid finished second at VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 2, losing 1-3 to Karmine Corp for a listed team prize of $65,000. On August 31, 2025 he was finals MVP in a 3-0 over GIANTX, a $100,000 team prize. The 2023 EMEA League title, a 3-1 over Fnatic on May 28, 2023, sits on the same page.

Kickoff was a third. Liquipedia’s prize table for VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff puts Liquid behind BBL Esports and Gentle Mates, with two EMEA points and a Masters Santiago berth.

Stage 1 that year went to Team Heretics, who beat Team Vitality 3-2 on May 17, 2026 for the Masters London seed.

Gambit Esports, from September 28, 2020 to August 6, 2022, is the spell before Liquid. He won VALORANT Masters Berlin on September 19, 2021, a 3-0 over Envy, and finished second at VALORANT Champions 2021 on December 12, a 2-3 against Acend. Liquipedia’s approximate total winnings are $201,718. Signature agents are Cypher, Viper and Killjoy.

Champions 2026 is only on the recent-match list. Group C shows a 1-2 loss to Paper Rex on September 24, a 2-1 over TYLOO on October 1, and a 0-2 loss to G2 Esports on October 3. He did not cite that run.

What neither side has settled

Anyone wanting a landing spot will not find one. nAts named no next organisation. Goossens published no 2027 lineup. Permission to look, and support for looking, are the public facts.

The narrower reading is the honest one. Exploring options while the current club is still talking is a roster process. Treating the wiki line as a done move gets ahead of both men who spoke. A destination is not a fact until one of them names it.

FAQ

Are the talks with Team Liquid over?

Not on what was posted on October 15, 2026. nAts wrote that the talks continue and that the club has let him explore 2027 options. Victor Goossens said Team Liquid would love for him to play for TL next year. The inactive tag is not an agreement with another organisation.

Which roles did he name for 2027?

In-game leader and sentinel. He also said he is open across all VCT regions, and he published a contact rather than a shortlist of teams.

What did Team Liquid’s co-CEO say?

At 17:08 UTC on October 15, Goossens wrote that this was not from a lack of interest, and that the organisation supports nAts seeing what is out there in the off-season. He named no 2027 roster.

August 30’s runner-up finish was a Badalona playoff, not a Berlin final. The Fair Stake’s report on that move explains why the VCT EMEA Stage 2 playoffs shifted from Berlin to Badalona.

This article is informational analysis only and is not betting advice.

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