Russel "Twistzz" Van Dullken is ranked 17th on HLTV's 2021 TOP20 list, and his overall stability and outstanding performance in the competition are the main reasons for this award.
Twistzz started similarly to other youngsters in north America, initially leading the team to the top in the ISEA tournament and improving by playing against the best players in the region in the FPL. However, his talent far exceeded that of those around him, and when his id first appeared in the HLTV.org records a few months later, the teenager successfully joined the famous team at that time.
Twistzz, who showed unlimited dominance in the lower divisions, quickly attracted the attention of big names, and the young Canadian successfully joined the TSM team, led by Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen and Pujan "FNS" Mehta, who was able to quickly hone his skills and accumulate on-field experience at the age of 16. However, due to his young age, he still missed the first season of ELEAGUE, when the organizers set the age threshold to 17 years old, but soon after Twistzz officially debuted in the first season of the ECS and confronted some European giants such as fnatic on his first journey to the knockout round.
For the year that followed, Twistzz continued to hone himself in TSM, and while his teammates were arguably about a quick round, Twistzz didn't choose to act rashly as he waited for a real opportunity to emerge. After his teammate Timothy "autimatic" chose to leave the team to join Cloud9, the Canadian teenager also received a heavyweight offer, Team Liquid, which will be home for nearly four years after Twistzz.
In his first year after putting on the new jersey, the 17-year-old proved his ability to survive in this environment with his strength, and Twistedzz achieved an excellent number of 1.15rating in both the ESG Mykonos Tour and ESL One New York, helping the North American team achieve a good double Asian result. After entering 2018, he has shown a super high level in many major events, and has also won many "firsts". The first appearance on the Major Stage (Atlanta Major), the first time he won the title at cs_summit 2, the first time he reached the knockout stage in the London Major, and the first MVP award at the ESL One New York Finals, a series of honors that made him on the Top 20 list for the first time, and Twistzz made the top 12 in that year.
However, the Canadian teenager did not stop there, and he continued to climb from his previous rankings, ranking 9th in the TOP20 list in 2019. This year, Twistzz, EliGE and NAF became Liquid's solid trident with absolute strength, and the three of them brought unprecedented success to the North American team. In mid-2019, Liquid ruled on the HLTV TOP1 throne for four months, and although they didn't rule for a long time, In this historic battle, Liquid won five back-to-back championships in a row, and while winning the Intel Grand S2 prize money, they also became the fastest team to achieve this achievement, twistzz also successfully won the second MVP medal of his career at IEM Sydney.
In the second half of 2019, the Liquid team as a whole began to experience a decline in form, and this situation continued until 2020, and Liquid gradually regressed from a strong contender for the championship. During the year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Twistzz's stability gradually weakened, and he also began to disagree with some members of the team, and eventually he chose to leave Liquid at the end of the year, which also marked a new beginning for him to prepare for a permanent move to Europe.
"I don't think my performance in 2020 is really enough to prop me up to the top 20 list. My life had changed a lot at that time, and I could say that I was in a very uncomfortable team environment at that time, and my confidence and motivation were affected a little. But I'm glad I'm back on this list this year, and I've set myself a bigger goal – to be in the top five in the world. Re-entering the Top 20 list is telling me that my progress, efforts and commitments over the past year are being delivered. ”
After entering 2021, Twistzz, who left Liquid, found its new home again a few weeks later, and at the end of January, FaZe Clan officially announced that Twistzz joined.
"I was asked at the beginning of January if I had any ideas for Joining FaZe because the team I wanted to join at the time should have a strong leader and a young rising star, and most importantly there was a team in the team that suited my position."
Although there was no karrigan, Twistzz chose to join the team, FaZe also gave him a trial, and the Canadian star once again proved that he was in shape. The new FaZe made its official debut in the group stage of the BLAST Premier Spring Stage, twistzz managed to achieve a 1.15rating score, and he led his team to qualify for the finals twice by beating his old club, Liquid, while playing his best performance of the year against NaVi , successfully slashing 1.72rating in a head-to-head match against the world's second-ranked team at the time.
Soon after, Karrigan chose to leave the mouz and return to FaZe's arms, and olofmeister temporarily withdrew from the roster. Karrigan's return has made the world look forward to this FaZe, but the new FaZe has not performed as well as it should be, they have lost five consecutive games, sometimes in vain, and most of the time they are completely unable to see the competitiveness of this team.
Twistzz led FaZe to a victory in the IEM Katowice match, when they were against the upcoming reformed OG and they were still invincible when they re-faced Liquid and FURIA. It was also one of The Few Games in which Twistzz was in poor form throughout the year, though his poor performance in both defeats was offset by the single win.
Twistzz was their highest rating player in the first four races in the new FaZe's constantly moving forward, enhancing his resume at the EPL S13 and DH Spring Masters. Despite his FaZe being eliminated early each time, he managed to top the charts with the highest KAST of 76.8% in the EPL S13 and achieved impressive stats (1.23rating, 81.4ADR) in five games in the group stage.
"My role at FaZe will be more proactive, and that's exactly what I want, I'll play a role where I need to take the initiative to gather information, and given that I'm an English speaker in this international column, I think my communication is very important because it's very helpful to the whole team." We didn't get any results for a long time throughout the year, so we also made a lot of adjustments and attempts in the role until we found one that really worked. ”
Flashpoint 3 and BLAST Premier Spring Finals were the 22-year-old's lows, with performances falling to the red line in both competitions, the only two he've played this year. After consecutive losses to G2, Sprout and NaVi, FaZe was once again eliminated in the first round, and it was during this time that FaZe officially decided to retrieve daddy Olofmeister to replace Coldzera.
"When Karrigan officially returned, I could understand that the community and the fan base had a lot of expectations of us, but it was actually very difficult to reintegrate a brand new tactical manual so quickly, and the team's chemistry didn't go as far as we wanted, and the end result was Olaf's return. However, shortly after starting training with Olof, we found a team feeling again. ”
After BLAST's defeat, FaZe competed in Games Without Borders, which gave them the opportunity to compete in a more relaxed atmosphere, as they would be greeted by a blockbuster event – the offline tournament IEM Cologne after more than a year.
Whether it's the return of the olofmeister or the so-called LAN BUFF, the German tour inspires something in FaZe that they never discovered before. On the stage of IEM Cologne, Twistzz, Broky and Rain played strongly, and FaZe Clan easily passed the group stage, they did not lose, and reached the semi-finals with unimaginable bravery in the knockout stage.
Despite losing to Astralis in the first round, another knot in their narrow encounter, FaZe reversed their fortunes with three straight wins in the losers' bracket, while Twistzz continued his momentum, showing absolute dominance in certain charts in each game. In the knockout stages, he added to his excellent performance in that victory over Gambit, and in the opening Ancient, his team reversed from a 1-11 start to victory, but in the final four they were still terminated by the full-body NaVi that was about to officially take off.
"There are a lot of different factors in it, and probably the biggest factor is that we're back in the offline environment again. We called Olaf back not long ago and were almost close to beating NaVi in the group stage at BLAST, so technically we were in a little honeymoon period at that time. At the time of the official game, we found the most important victory we had after coming together as a team, and with each win we started to believe in ourselves more, which was officially what we desperately needed. ”
The semi-finals at the time were still a highlight for Twistzz's year, with the Canadian winning his only EVP nomination in the race, but it was far from his final standout, although FaZe was no longer able to replicate their form in Cologne in the second half of the 2021 season.
It all started with FaZe's early exit on the EPL S14, where they finished second in the group stage round robin with a 3-2 finish and missed the knockout round, and the 22-year-old was once again the highest player in the team (1.10). Subsequently, Twistzz did not get good data in the group stage of the BLAST Premier Fall Stage due to the team's unfavorable start, but he still helped the team secure the qualification for the finals as a key player in FaZe's victory over OG.
Then came the IEM Fall, the second RMR event of the year, FaZe was out early at flashpoint 3, the first RMR event, and this time they were under a lot of pressure. They lost to Fiend in the group stage, which meant karrigan and his FaZe had missed the knockout round, but they still needed to win in the 9th-12th place tiebreaker to ensure the possibility of being able to join major, and in the end they did it anyway, and with Twistzz's brilliant performance, FaZe beat OG and BIG in succession to survive.
After a tough ride into PGL Major Stockholm, FaZe breathed a sigh of relief and it was time to jump at the chance to make a big splash on CS:GO's biggest stage. Twistzz still maintains his usual style during the challenger phase, with FaZe moving on to the next stage with an unbeaten run under Karrigan, and as Major continues, the Canadian's performance remains steady, but Karrigan's amazing form fades away in the Legendary group stage. The big scores against G2 and the Copenhagen Flames put FaZe in a desperate situation, then they first won The Liquid, but lost to Virtus.pro in the final round, and they were turned upside down after a 10-3 lead on the crucial Inferno, and finally FaZe left Major 9-11th.
"The worst thing? With us already so close to that door, we still couldn't make it to the Major Quarterfinals. ”
Towards the end of the year, more "close" but even moments that didn't make that move have plagued FaZe, who are outside the top half of both the BLAST Premier Fall Finals and the IEM Winter. In Copenhagen, the new FaZe played under the watchful eye of a large crowd for the first time, however in the series against Heroic, 14-16 and 13-16, the aggregate score of 0-2 defeated, which allowed them to go straight into the losers group, where the new Astralis sent them home directly.
Returning to Stockholm for IEM, losing extra time to BIG meant FaZe would have to go through knockouts again, and after revenge on Heroic, they lost to Gambit in another tough match, twistzz struggled to drag the game into three overtimes on Overpass, but this time it was a classic long pain in the mouths of the audience.
"I think the series of small mistakes that come up in every big game are what keeps us from getting into the knockout rounds. On the bright side, we never fall twice on a single mistake, and we are able to keep learning and improving. Sometimes I feel like we just lack a third person who can carry the flag at a critical moment. ”
Once again, they got the script of being eliminated in the group stage, and FaZe ended 2021 in a struggle, which was another failure they had to endure. Just before the winter offseason arrived, they officially announced the signing of the ropz, hoping that they would be able to reverse the fate with the ropz in the new year after replenishing the firepower and usher in a new happy ending.
"My goal for 2022 is to win the championship and continue to work towards my goal of becoming a Top 5 player. I believe that after the ropz comes, we can gallop in the arena as a strong contender for the championship. It may not be something that can be achieved in a month, but we will eventually reach our destination. ”
Why is Twistzz the 17th Best Player of 2021?
After missing out on the Top 20 list in 2020, Twistzz returned to this ranking that year, becoming a well-deserved star player in the FaZe Clan as soon as he appeared, and continued to play convincing statistics with excellent stability throughout the year.
72.7% OF KAST's figures rank 13th among all players, which is a visual indication of the 22-year-old's steady contribution round after round during 2021, and the fact that he is significantly below 1.00 in only one event also shows his reliability in the competition.
"The main takeaway from my first year with this European team was initiative, which meant more direct and positive communication with my teammates. Before joining FaZe, I had even forgotten what a healthy team environment looked like, there should be a very positive atmosphere in the team at all times, and the players should enjoy each other's presence. Now this FaZe makes me feel very enjoyable every day of my work, and even when I am resting alone during the holidays, I will miss the time I spent with them. ”
Another aspect that sets Twistzz apart is his performance at the top tier, where he rats 1.11 (14th) in the "Elite" event, thanks in large part to his peak performances at IEM Cologne, BLAST Premier Fall Finals and IEM Winter. Solid performances in the PGL Major and some of the most important "non-elite" events such as the two EPLs, as well as the 1.12rating achieved against the Top 20 teams, show that he remains competitive against the world's top teams and players, and the Canadian star has secured his place on the list.
Although this does not affect his ranking, it is still worth mentioning that he is known as the director of hair stylists by the majority of netizens, not only because of his flowing hairstyle, but also Twistzz's powerful locking ability has become his symbol, and in 2021 he has become the fourth consecutive year to record the most headshots per round (0.46, ranking first overall). He is also an excellent gunman (0.16 shots per possession, 6th) and a great defender (CT formula 1.26, 6th).
"As a player, I feel like I can do more. It's impossible to look at the numbers and say I'm satisfied, but when I compare that to last year, I can be proud to be back on this list because it's also a small win. In my first year on the European team, I played a completely new role, a completely different position, and played against the strongest players in the world throughout the year. If we had made more in-depth progress in a previous competition, I think my ranking here would have been different, and I can only say that next year we have to do better. ”
Twistzz's biggest problem this year was that he only made it to the knockout stage at IEM Cologne, and compared to many of his peers on this list, Twistzz's resume clearly lacked big-scene performances, which is the main reason why he could not get a higher than 17.
Rising Star Prediction
Like his teammate Brooky, Twistzz gave the Rising Star Prediction to MOUZ NXT's star rifleman, the 17-year-old XertioN.
"Judging from the performance in the Academia League, I can only say that I have to mention this player, I think he, like torzsi, deserves to be promoted to the MOUZ home team."