Every day that passes by brings us one step closer to Dota 2’s biggest tournament of 2023. Starting on 12 October, The International 12 will allow us to watch the best teams in the world. 20 squads will compete for a massive prize pool, although the exact dollar amount hasn’t been revealed. TI 12 will take place in Seattle, and by the looks of it, it will be played on a version of Patch 7.34, which changed a lot of things.
After looking at Gaimin Gladiators, our services ` reviews continue with another top-tier team from Western Europe – Team Liquid. Every Dota 2 fan knows Team Liquid are in a league of their own and will always be one of the favorites. The team’s results in 2023 have been pretty impressive, despite not winning any tournaments, so let’s learn more about them.
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Overview of Team Liquid and their roster
Team Liquid is one of the oldest and most respected esports organizations in the world with a lot of experience. Originally founded in 2000, Team Liquid has been a part of the Dota 2 scene for many years and had numerous rosters. With that said, most people remember the organization for their performance during TI 7, when the team won the most important Dota 2 event in the world.
There have been a lot of roster changes since then, and the current lineup of Team Liquid has nothing to do with the previous one. In fact, the organization decided to rebuild its roster after Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and the rest of the TI 7 winning roster left to form Nigma Galaxy in 2019. At that time, Team Liquid acquired Alliance’s old lineup. There have been a few more changes since then, which were for the better because Liquid improved its results drastically.
At the time of writing this article, Liquid’s roster has the following names:
- Michael “miCKe” Vu
- MichaÅ “Nisha” Jankowski
- Ludwig “zai” WÃ¥hlberg
- Samuel “Boxi” Svahn
- Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi
Team Liquid was very strong throughout 2022 when they had the likes of Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen on the roster, finishing third at The International 2022. A lot of people expected their results to go down following MATU’s departure, but the team improved even more, making them one of the big favorites for The International 12.
Team Liquid’s Results in 2023
If there is one word that describes Team Liquid’s results in 2023, it has to be unlucky. Even though the team has been one of the best in the world and defeated pretty much everyone, it hasn’t been able to win a single tournament. What’s interesting is they reached the Grand Finals of 4 big events this year and lost all of them to Gaimin Gladiators. Thankfully, the team defeated their mighty Western European opponents at the Riyadh Masters 2023, which gives them a slight moral advantage.
In terms of Liquid’s previous results, it all started with the Grand Final at The Lima Major 2023. Liquid was one of the favorites and lived up to the expectations until they met GG. After losing to Quinn and the rest in the UB Finals, Liquid defeated Talon and had the chance to get revenge. However, Gaimin Gladiators were just too good and defeated Liquid without dropping a single map.
Following the loss against Gaimin Gladiators, the two teams met again at DreamLeague Season 19. What’s interesting is Liquid took revenge on GG after defeating them in the UB final. However, Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov and his crew earned a spot in the Grand Final, where we saw an incredible 5-game series that went in favor of GG.
Despite losing two finals in a row, Team Liquid did not want to go down without a fight. The team’s incredible performance allowed it to reach the final of the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, but Nisha and the squad couldn’t overcome GG. Even though Liquid was the favorite, the team lost to GG in yet another tournament.
Following the disappointing result at DreamLeague Season 20, Team Liquid reached the final of the third 2023 DPC Major as well. The squad was also a favorite for The Bali Major 2023, but they had to go through their arch-nemesis in the Gladiators for the 4th time this year. Although the odds were in their favor, the players weren’t able to win and lost yet another final.
As for the Riyadh Masters 2023, Team Liquid finished fourth after losing to Talon Esports. That said, thanks to the amazing prize pool, the team won more than $1.2M.
Team Liquid at The International 12
Despite not winning any of the events it was a part of, Team Liquid reached the finals of pretty much all DPC tournaments. Consequently, the team collected enough DPC points to receive a direct invitation for The International 12.
When it comes down to its chances of winning, a lot of people will consider TL to be one of the favorites. Even though this year’s TI will be held on a new meta, Team Liquid has proven to be able to adapt pretty fast. The team had some problems after the arrival of 7.33, but they quickly bounced back, so we have no doubt the same will happen now.
Liquid has proven time and time again they can deal with anyone, including Gaimin Gladiators. Even though it lost all finals against Quinn and the rest, Liquid defeated the powerful WEU team several times.
If we take a look at Team Liquid’s previous results at the other The International tournaments, we can see the squad is consistent. Besides winning it once, they’ve reached the Grand Finals and have multiple top 5 finishes. Therefore, we can safely say they have the needed skills and experience to win.
Be sure to follow BLIX for more information about the event, as well as everything else you need to know about the Dota 2 world. We’ll make sure to provide you with more details about The International in the near future.
