wayne joins Team Liquid
wayne is officially headed to Team Liquid and is set to make his first appearance for the EMEA giants in January.
EUROPE – Team Liquid have announced the signing of former Motiv Esports player Wayne “wayne” Chang, marking what is effectively the first true Pacific import to land in the EMEA region. The Singaporean joins a rebuilt Liquid lineup featuring Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin and Kamil “kamo” Frąckowiak, while also linking up with fellow new arrivals Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius (ex Team Heretics) and Semyon “purp0” Borchev (ex GIANTX).
The announcement doesn’t come out of nowhere. Rumors have connected wayne to Liquid’s new project for weeks, with reports also suggesting that he and Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart were both in contention for the roster’s import slot. In the end, Liquid went with wayne, betting on the rookie player for the upcoming 2026 season.
wayne arrives after three seasons grinding in Southeast Asia’s tier-two ecosystem, playing for teams such as X10 Esports, Kizuna Esports, Disguised, and most recently Motiv Esports. The last two seasons in particular, with DSG and MTV, saw wayne consistently in the mix at the top of the MY/SG and wider SEA circuit.
That stretch was capped by a strong late-year run: a title at the VALORANT Challengers SEA Split 3 Playoffs in Vietnam, followed by a fourth-place finish at VCT Ascension Pacific in Bangkok. Even without the promotion spot, those results helped reinforce that this wasn’t just a good player in a smaller league situation, but a player who repeatedly showed up against the best competition available in his tier.
The 18-year-old is best known as a controller player, most notably on Omen, and has recently shown more flexibility by incorporating Yoru into his pool. With consistent firepower and some of the strongest numbers across SEA tier-two, the signing also makes wayne the first player to make the jump from Pacific to EMEA directly out of tier-two competition.
Team Liquid will have time to bring him up to speed, with their next confirmed appearance set for VCT EMEA Kickoff, which begins on January 20.
Team Liquid currently have:
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin
- Kamil “kamo” Frąckowiak
- Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius
- Semyon “purp0” Borchev
- Wayne “wayne” Chang
- Ivo "LohaN" Albino (Head coach)
- Daniel "yaotziN" Roczniak (Coach)
- Tanner "7Teen" Curtis (Performance coach)
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