Team Liquid are finally back among the top tier teams, ending a disappointing run which began with a poor showing at The International 6 last August by winning the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 in Shanghai.
Despite winning the Dream League in November, the team had failed to qualify for the Boston Major and their performances were noticeably poor during the tail end of 2016. They will hope that this victory will kick-start their 2017.
Their path to victory
On the way to claiming their first StarLadder trophy, Liquid opened Group B with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against VG.J. This was followed up with a clean 2-0 win against Wings Gaming.
Having secured top spot in the group, Liquid went on to face TnC in the semifinals. Despite the heroics that the team from the Philippines had pulled off against Secret to reach this stage, Liquid sailed through the tie 2-0.
In the Finals they faced a motivated VG.J once again. The first game went in favour of the Chinese team as Liquid struggled to curtail their gradual high ground pushes. Liquid were weaker in team fights than their opponents and ended up playing the passive role, which ultimately lost them the game. However, KuroKy’s boys bounced back in the second game and leveled the score after only 24 minutes of play.
In the third game Liquid demonstrated great mastery of the split push, which was reminiscent of when Alliance dominated the Dota scene. Right after the draft, it became clear that Liquid’s lineup favoured getting objectives and avoiding direct team fights, while VG.J had a strong team fight lineup. Even though Liquid’s game style was a lot riskier, they made few mistakes and dictated the tempo of the game. This gave VG.J very few chances to punish them and ultimately handed Liquid the win.
The last game in the Finals was even more one-sided as Liquid gained the advantage from the beginning and never lost it. With the aid of his teammates rotating to the mid lane, Miracle- killed the enemy Storm Spirit four times in the first six minutes with his Anti-Mage. Having gained such a head start, he started growing his net worth significantly and soon Miracle- had turned the game into a one-man show. This ultimately saw Liquid win the Finals with a 3-1 scoreline.
Here is how the Shanghai heroes performed:
Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Borislavov
The offlaner was part of the original Liquid lineup that KuroKy formed in 2015 and has been providing consistent performances ever since. He was the main initiator for his team in Shanghai – a role which he played pretty well. His most successful and impactful hero was the Centaur Warrunner, with whom he won all five games played. His split pushing Beastmaster was one of the enabling space creators in the final against VG.J. As usual, MinD_ContRoL did not play a large number of heroes, but the ones he commanded were always commanded well.
Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi
Fans can finally rejoice as “the original 9k” is back to his full splendor. Miracle- demonstrated his typical confidence, while his hunger to win was also strong. On a few occasions he appeared a little overconfident, and this did prove costly, but most of his moves were successful and often made the difference. He played the highest number of different heroes in the tournament (nine) and it is not surprising that he enjoyed the most impact with playmaking heroes. It would be hard to highlight singular good performances such was the overall quality of his play, but his Ember Spirit, Invoker, and Anti-Mage in the final game of the tournament are hard to forget.
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi
The hardened veteran is conquering new ground with Liquid. Under his drafting, the team played more heroes than any other in the tournament (32) and he himself did not shy away from doing whatever was needed to get the win. Fans will love him for his Enigma picks, but he also had a chance to shine with his legendary Rubick. His Lion was key versus VG.J in the Finals with his well-timed disables during team fights. Meanwhile, in general, his early game rotations to initiate ganks in the mid lane were vital in Liquid gaining the upper hand in many games.
Maroun “GH” Merhej
The support player arrived at Liquid last November, right after the unsuccessful Boston Major qualifying campaign as a replacement for Kanishka “BuLba” Sosale. Unlike his predecessor, he adapted quickly and soon became a good fit for the team.
At StarLadder GH will be remembered for his Io and Rubick plays, which are two of his strongest heroes. His Io was a real life saver, especially versus VG.J in the last two games of the Finals. He was also the early game fuel behind Miracle-‘s devastating Anti-Mage in the final game.
Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen
The outspoken Finnish carry was also versatile and played a total of eight different heroes in this tournament, with his performances with each of them being solid. MATUMBAMAN also demonstrated excellent farming and team fighting capabilities. Although he is a very good farmer when given space, MATUMBAMAN really thrives in battle and rarely lets the team down. His Morphling versus VG.J was particularly notable, along with the wreaking havoc he caused with Lone Druid against Wings Gaming.
Conclusion
Team Liquid earned the right to be called a top team once again with their performance in Shanghai. With only two games lost in the entire tournament and not being heavily outplayed in either of those, the team can truly be proud. Liquid’s great in-game execution was complemented with hero versatility, as they were the team with the most hero picks.
Whether it was a team fight lineup or a split push, the synchronization and decision making were at a higher level than before, although on occasions they did tend to overcommit. The team successfully employed tactics such as early game ganks, as well as feigning escaping and then turning back to engage with the enemy.
While it is unlikely that winning StarLadder will give them an invitation to the Kiev Major, it is equally unlikely that this team will fail to qualify for the prestigious tournament on their own accord. From what we saw in Shanghai, they are likely to be a big threat once there too.
