Despite Team Liquid’s early struggles at the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational, the squad has successfully turned things around, as they’ve won 3 of their last 4 games, including two definitive victories on Day 4 over Fnatic and EVOS Esports. And although the team still has a mountain to climb before reaching the tournament’s Knockout Stage in Paris, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng is doing his best to put his team on his back, as his performance at MSI is on pace to be one of the best in the history of the tournament.

Through 4 Days of play at MSI, Doublelift has established himself as the centerpiece of a Team Liquid roster that struggled early on to find any traction at all. However, now that the team is seemingly on the uptick, Doublelift is establishing himself as the stalwart catalyst that could push North America into the MSI Semifinals.

With 8 games in the books, Doublelift ranks in the top 3 among AD Carries at the tournament in KP, DPM, FB%, and GD@15, reminding everyone that he can still be an impactful player on the international stage, even when his team is struggling. With their backs against the wall, Team Liquid has put nearly all of their stock into Doublelift, as he leads all members of the team in CS/M, GPM, and DPM. However, there is one statistic where Doublelift leads all players participating at MSI: DMG%.

Between all 34 players who have appeared on the MSI stage, Doublelift’s DMG% ranks higher than all others through the first four days of the tournament. With a whopping mark of 38.2%, Doublelift is making up nearly ⅖ of Team Liquid’s damage. Not only is he accounting for his own damage, but he’s picking up an entire player’s share, as well.

And while fellow AD Carries Kim “PraY” Jong-in and Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao follow closely behind Doublelift’s record-setting DMG% mark at 36.9 and 36.3 percent, respectively. Doublelift tops them both. If Team Liquid’s star veteran can keep contributing at this pace, his DMG% could turn out to be the highest in the history of the Mid-Season Invitational.

For reference, the highest DMG% at past tournaments came from major contributors in carry-centric roles. In 2017, the DMG% title belonged to Team WE AD Carry Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun, who finished his MSI run with a DMG% of 29.7%, nine whole percentage points below Doublelift’s current mark. In 2016, Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang of the Flash Wolves posted a DMG% of 31.7% while Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg of Team SoloMid topped the field in 2015’s edition of the tournament with a DMG% of 31.9%.

And while these statistics from past MSI’s are certainly impressive, Doublelift’s contributions to Team Liquid’s damage charts have been groundbreaking. Not only does he surpass the former records for Damage Contribution, he shatters them. Doublelift is looking like the backbone of a team that could straighten itself in just over a day, and if the team has proved anything in its recent turnaround at MSI, it’s that the other 4 members of Liquid’s roster are not afraid of handing the reins over to Doublelift and letting him work pure magic.

With just two games remaining at the MSI Group Stage, Team Liquid needs to win both games to secure a spot in the Knockout Stage, and even then, the team isn’t safe from elimination. However, if Doublelift can continue to put on a masterful performance at the tournament, he could easily put his teammates on his back and drag North America into the bracket whether they like it or not.

Photo Credit: Lolesports