Team Liquid taking advantage of second chance they’ve been given at Masters: Reykjavík

Heading into Sunday’s match, Team Liquid -- the VCT Champions 2021 semifinalists -- went into Masters: Reykjavík with challenges they were looking to overcome.

For Team Liquid, one challenge came to the forefront when they initially failed to qualify for Masters after losing to G2 Esports 2-0 in the lower bracket of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) VCT Stage 1 playoffs.

“At the time, we felt like we were 100% out for Stage 1, so we had a big team talk about what we were going to change,” head coach Connor "Sliggy" Blomfield said. “The main thing we wanted to change was our in-game leading within the team.”

After their loss to G2, Team Liquid outlined a list of short-term and long-term goals that they all shared among themselves.

In the past, Team Liquid have opted for a democratic approach to decision-making in-game, as opposed to the usual approach to delegate those responsibilities to one player.

Now, Team Liquid utilize a mix of different leaders depending on the map, but in the future, that could turn into only one person calling the shots.

“Our shotcalling changes depending on the map we play, so on Icebox, [Travis "L1NK" Mendoza] was the primary person making the calls, while [Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom] did the midround calls for us,” Sliggy said. “We couldn’t really make the full transition in shotcalling because of the short turnaround period, but we want to use this event as a segue for L1NK to be our primary in-game leader moving forward.”

One of the things Sliggy prides himself and his players on is their ability to value everyone’s opinions and takes.

“I feel like everyone has a voice and we make sure everyone is heard in the team. Now, we are learning to centralize that into one voice moving forward,” Sliggy said.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Sunday’s match against KRÜ Esports, the only team to have qualified for every major international VALORANT event, was an opportunity for Team Liquid to test out this new possible system moving forward.

So far, Sliggy is happy with L1NK’s progress in such a short amount of time.

“He is a really good shotcaller,” Sliggy said. “He is really comfortable with that role, his calls are good, and today especially, he stepped up to the plate big time against a really tough opponent.”

Team Liquid were able to test out this change successfully after taking down KRÜ 2-0, first on Icebox and then Ascent. Throughout both games, Team Liquid showcased a rekindled resilience and dominance.

At one point, Team Liquid were down 12-11 on Ascent and were nearly forced into a third map. Yet the team maintained confidence against an opponent they have now beaten three times but whom they know can beat any team on a good day.

“Stylistically, it’s a team that we manage to play against pretty well. Also, like mentally, they might have a bit too much respect against us at times,” ScreaM said in a postgame scrum. “I think they get scared because when I watch them in other games they just run on people.”

Pressure and inconsistency has plagued Team Liquid, but this is something that Sliggy and the team looks to change moving forward.

“I think a lot of the reasons why we would look like favorites going into an event like VCT Champions or even the most recent qualifier comes down to a mental block,” Sliggy said. “Sometimes, I can just read the energy of the room, and immediately feel like it is going to be an off day. You saw it against Acend in the semifinals at VCT Champions and then recently against G2 Esports.”

While Team Liquid has not made any changes to their lineup since late last year, the team continues to make changes to prove to themselves that they can not only reach the top of VALORANT, but maintain that level of play instead of faltering on bad days.

With this second chance, Team Liquid has guaranteed 150 circuit points, a major difference from the 55 they were meant to receive for finishing fourth in the Reykjavík qualifier. This is something that Sliggy is both thankful and empathetic toward Funplus Phoenix, the team they replaced at Reykavík.

“My heart goes out to Funplus Phoenix who really deserved to be here,” Sliggy said. “It must be the worst feeling to dominate EMEA and not be able to play here, but we are just trying to make the most out of our second chance that we have been gifted.”

Photo credit: Riot Games

ScreaM shared similar sentiments about the second chance Team Liquid have been given.

“We had a really good mentality [against KRÜ], no pressure on our shoulders,” ScreaM said. “We didn’t really qualify for this event but we are really grateful to be here and we try to enjoy every single second.”

Now, the team looks to extend this opportunity in their upcoming matchup against XERXIA, a team that both Sliggy and ScreaM were not expecting to face in the qualifying match.

“I think OpTic are the favorites to win this entire event because of their LAN experience and current form,” Sliggy said. “Whenever we scrim against them, matches are always so close.”

“I think OpTic is one of the best teams at this tournament.” ScreaM said before XERXIA’s upset over the North American second seed.

Team Liquid now will look to qualify for the double-elimination playoff bracket when they face XERXIA on Monday. That match will take place at approximately 4 p.m. ET after Fnatic faces Ninjas in Pyjamas at 1 p.m. ET.

As for KRÜ Esports, they will move into an elimination match where they will take on OpTic Gaming on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games