Liquid Release Nephew and Shadow

Team Liquid have announced that they are parting ways with two of the top American players in Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, Nephew and Shadow. 

Nephew is a top ranked Street Fighter player who is the current The MixUp 2025 champion along with several strong placements in tournaments. His laid-back style and incredible ability which has sometimes gotten him the nickname ‘Dark Neph’ are things that have characterized him since he came to prominence in Street Fighter V. 

Shadow is generally considered to be one of the strongest players in North America. He won Frosty Faustings in 2025 along with Cream City Convergence and Roundhouse. 

With such titles, they are invaluable assets. While Nephew joined Liquid in late 2024, Shadow has been with them since 2023 and has done several great things. 

In a statement online, Team Liquid made the announcement saying:

“Today, we're bidding farewell to Nephew and Shadow. 

“Shadow and Nephew played their hearts out over the last year and reached brand new heights - we want to thank them for all the effort they put in while wearing our jersey and thank everyone in the community who cheered for them.

For now, we will be stepping out of the fighting game ring, but we know that the FGC is something special.  Few scenes embody the creativity, energy, and communal spirit of competitive gaming like the fighting game community does and so, if we see a good opportunity to step back in, we will.

“Thank you so much to the Tekken and Street Fighter communities and please keep supporting Shadow and Nephew as they move on to their next opportunities.”

Both Nephew and Shadow expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with such a prestigious organization with Nephew taking the time to list his achievements and use the opportunity to market himself to potential new teams. 

With the 2026 competitive season looming, both players would prefer to have teams before the start of hostilities as this would make things such as travel and other simple logistical issues a much easier time to deal with. 

We wish them all the best moving forward.