After four long years without a tournament win, Team Liquid has finally taken a step onto the top step of the podium after claiming victory at Elite League Season Two in Peru. The win couldn’t be timed better with Liquid gearing up for The International, which is just weeks away.
While it was classified as a tier two tournament and didn’t include heavyweight Dota squads Gaimin Gladiators or this year’s frontrunners Team Falcons, try telling that to Liquid, who lifted the trophy on Sunday after defeating 1win 3-2 in the final. Both teams traded wins back and forward in the best-of-five, but it was Liquid from the lower bracket—led by a 14-kill effort from mid laner Nisha—who triumphed in the end.
Insania and Nisha simply cheered in their post-match interviews in front of a packed-out Centro de Convenciones after the win. TL has come oh-so-close to glory these past few years; the team concluded 2022 with a third-place finish at TI in Singapore, then three straight major finals, losing all to Gaimin Gladiators. As the Gaimin era dimmed following TI 2023, another challenger in the form of Falcons rose up. Liquid was unable to capitalize.
We have to go back to ESL One Germany for the squad’s last victory, then over Natus Vincere and held online during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Before that digital-sided triumph, Liquid’s last offline win came at MDL Macau five years ago, against Evil Geniuses. Only two members of that winning squad, Boxi and insania—now part of the longest-running core in Dota history—still remain from that ESL One winning roster.
Liquid’s focus now turns to TI 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The team secured a direct invite thanks to their consistency this year, but compared to the likes of Falcons, Gaimin, and Spirit, are going to need to step up to another level if they hope to lift the Aegis of Champions for the second time in the storied org’s history.
Liquid has historically placed well at TI, so if the team can take their form into the event, we may just see the blue-and-white horse banner raised come mid-September.
