A Year Through The Eyes of Liquid

To Tell the Tale









































Damian Estrada For our final episode ever of the Rebirth series, I wanted it to provide closure yet exist as a standalone testament for Team Liquid's trials. Tying in both past and present felt like the best way to represent what the players and staff endured together. An overwhelming amount of time and passion was spent by the studio to not only produce something special, but to create a piece that connected the viewers emotionally to the players.





Michael Artress Taking over the creation of Rebirth this Split was a huge deal, being that it is our final installment to the series. I'm proud to have been able to witness and document the team's growth as people and professionals in an exciting time for esports. I believe the documentary we produce will be a prime example of what is to come for content in not only League of Legends, but the scope of the gaming community."

The Final Episode

My, how our boys have grown. When we first watched them behind the scenes in Episode One, we began with a conversation. Why are you here? What are you doing? What do you want to achieve? Now, we end with a proposition: How much further can we go?Ostensibly, the consistent semi-final finishes suggests that little has been gained on paper. The same podium places. The same end to the season. Yet anyone who has watched the team week in and week out through Rebirth knows that much has changed within and without. Three teammates have gone, and three new friends have taken their place. Issues cropped up throughout the seasons. At times it seemed as though we were close to breaking, and yet we stood firm. Through it all we discovered much about our team, and our team discovered much about themselves.Alas, Rebirth must come to an end. Today, our final episode airs, yet before we see how the series concludes, we should look back at the most memorable time on record.When we started the 2015 season, we went in with experience. Quas, Xpecial, FeniX, Piglet, and IWillDominate made up our starting five; it was a roster that had Worlds in its grasp in 2014 rounded out by the addition of a World Champion to the line-up. We thought we had it all, and for most of the year, we did.When we told our story, we spoke of our troubles. Piglet was benched, and the team continuously lost. Yet against all odds we picked ourselves up and continued to win when it mattered most. We squeezed into the playoffs by a thread of a tie-breaker, and there we broke a curse that had long plagued the team. By finishing third for the Split, we had banished what had seemed like an inveterate demon. We hungered for more.We kept winning, and for the first time in the organization's history, we placed 1st in a Split. Esports history was written that season at Madison Square Garden, and Team Liquid was there to share it with our fans. We tore down Team Impulse and basked in the glory of victory, but it would be short lived. Defeat at the hands of Cloud9 consigned us to another bronze medal, and our dream of Worlds was shattered.Every step of the way, there was a story to be told. Rebirth had chronicled an adventure that took us from Curse to Liquid, from fourth to third, from change to drastic change. Through it all, the fans continued to share every emotion that our players experienced, yet an even greater shift was about to occur.In a matter of months, most of our original roster departed for one reason or another. Quas, Xpecial and IWillDominate, stars that had become synonymous with the team, called time on their careers with Liquid and fans struggled to imagine a world without them. Luorlo, Dardoch, and Matt took their places, yet the talented young men knew that they had everything to prove.For the fans that stood by us, our players repaid their faith. In a near-identical course to our debut season as Liquid, the team struggled early in the 2016 spring season. Progress was made in minor degrees as our rookies found their footing. At the helm, Piglet—who had previously been benched for his super-star demeanor—became a role model and the team's captain. With perseverance and a little bit of luck, we once again joined the nation's best teams in the playoffs at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.No one believed that a team with three rookies and two stars could make an impact, much less reach the playoffs. And yet, there we were. In the quarterfinals. And then in the semis. Though we would ultimately finish fourth once more, our players proved that Liquid was reborn this season, and that this is just the beginning.How much further can we go?That, my friends, is a story for another time.Before the series ends, Michael Artress (Rebirth & Against all Odds) & Damian Estrada (Rebirth & Faith) of 1UP Studios will conduct an AMA on reddit to talk about the final episode and an entire year's odyssey. They will answer questions in the lead up to the event, starting at 10am PST on May 4th. These two men were the hearts and minds behind the entire series, and they still have a few stories to tell. Make sure to ask them all the right questions and learn more about Liquid, Rebirth, and the process behind this remarkable production.You can follow the AMA below, or participate on reddit. On May 4th 2016, at 2pm PST, the final episode of rebirth will air on Youtube via HTC eSports while an accompanying live stream will be available on Twitch.Episode 23 follows the last few weeks of the LCS Spring Split as well as the playoffs. While pundits predicted that Liquid would suffer after several roster changes, the squad managed to secure a spot in bracket stage of the competition. Yet they would still have all to do in the Spring playoffs matched against NRG—and with CLG and Immortals looming in the next round. Liquid needed a miracle after this turbulent season, but would they get it when it mattered the most?You can also watch the live stream event via HTC eSports on Twitch.tv. Rebirth has followed Liquid through heartbreak, through hope, through success and through failure. We've witnessed our boys develop into a group worthy to be called a team, and they reached heights few thought were possible. This may be the very last installment of Rebirth, yet there is still more to come from our League of Legends team, as well as Damian and Michael.This journey may have ended, but a new one begins soon.