Team Liquid is certainly not a candidate that anyone expects to get eliminated prematurely at the DreamLeague S20. They won runner-up finish at two consecutive majors of the Dota Pro Circuit 2023 (DPC 2023) and gave Gaimin Gladiators a run for their money.
Yet, Liquid’s elimination from DreamLeague could be worrying news for fans.
Image source: Team Liquid
Team Liquid was lacking everything at DreamLeague S20
Team Liquid ends their group stage run with a disappointing bottom seed, notably losing clean sweeps to PSG.LGD, Talon Esports and Tundra Esports.
That said, Liquid’s loss stems from the fact that they are playing with a handicap. That is they have two stand-ins, Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev and Omar “OmaR” Moughrabi covering for their main players, Michael “miCKe” Vu and Samuel “Boxi” Svahn.
Without miCKe, the hard carry player, who’s often considered the key to Liquid’s late game success. Liquid crumbled easily to the likes of major-tier opponents.
We indeed went out with a bang, GG’s to @TSM 🫡
Well played and thanks for the carry @naive_dota & @OmaR_Mogh 😌
Thanks to @questesports_ for letting us borrow them 🫶 #ESLProTour pic.twitter.com/INZ0d1Kmo6
— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) June 14, 2023
Riyadh Masters 2023 Qualifiers Failed
Going out in such an underwhelming manner is surely not Liquid’s style, considering they also won runner-up at the DreamLeague S19. However, this means they have not secured a slot at the highly-anticipated Riyadh Masters 2023.
The Riyadh Masters 2023 is proclaimed the second International Championship, hosted by a third party organizer. However, it’s just as grand, in terms of prize pool, the participants and the production value. With a whopping $15M prize pool, surely even Liquid would want a piece of that prize.
Team Liquid at the Bali Major 2023
While the DreamLeague S20 shenanigans should be way past Liquid by now, the issue remains. Can Liquid survive in the upcoming Bali Major?
The concern stems from the fact that Liquid’s drafts looked stale, especially with the frequent Techies pick in multiple matches. The trend seemingly started after Liquid lost to Tundra, which used the same strat, but Liquid just didn’t execute it well enough. If that wasn’t enough, Liquid also placed fourth at the Division 1 Western Europe of DPC 2023 Tour 3. They lost the tiebreaker to Quest Esports, so that’s concerning, to say the least.
Additionally, we also ranked Liquid well below anyone’s expectations of a two-time major runner-up winner in our Bali Major 2023 Power Rankings.
According to Valve’s DPC Rankings, Liquid shares first place on DPC Rankings with Gaimin Gladiators. However, under-performing at the Bali Major will cost them their bragging rights as the strongest team of DPC 2023.
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