Dynamic team play is one of the team's biggest strengths, and a shift away from a dedicated AWPer has worked wonders. While most elite squads have a primary sniper, we’ve seen almost every single Liquid player carry the AWP depending on strategy, spawn, and economy. Maps and sides that are notoriously difficult for snipers can be navigated by simply carrying 5 rifles into rounds, where all our players excel. This flexibility puts opposing teams out of their standard positions, and eventually neutralize their main threat. Take, for example, the team’s penchant for shutting down star-centric teams like Na`Vi. s1mple may be the best player in the world, but a look at our recent games against the CIS squad, such as at ELEAGUE, shows how Liquid is able to prevent s1mple from asserting himself across the server. By switching positions and roles, star players are unable to read play patterns and rely on their aim to win rounds. The few teams that can match Liquid in this regard, such as Astralis, have 5 members who can carry, have very malleable strategy and positioning, and stay composed against pressure.

This is the philosophy that the team is built on, starting with our head coach zews. No one person can be bigger than the team, take an inordinate amount of resources, or play with their stats in mind. Relying on a single player or strategy has never been a long term solution for Team Liquid, and many of our best performances have come from balanced efforts from the squad. In our ELEAGUE semifinal victory against Na`Vi, our players had a split of 10 kills between each other. On Dust2, EliGE and NAF topped the charts; on Overpass, Twistzz and TACO turned up the heat. Every single player on the squad can carry a map when they have to, but it is team cohesion that has resulted in wins. Recall zews’ cameo at the ELEAGUE Major: Boston, where he sacrificed his own buys for to give the team better odds in each round — that typifies the coach and the team’s commitment to team play.

In the ELEAGUE finals, Astralis and Liquid each mentioned that the match felt like they were playing against their respective doppelgangers. This is very high praise for Liquid, despite the fact that Astralis has proven to be a reliable roadblock. As arguably the best team in the world, Astralis is a favorable model to emulate, and based on the results over the past few months, we’re just a few clicks away from finally making our breakthrough.

One potential obstacle that the team may face is the team’s reliance on momentum. While wins can seem crisp and dominating, losses can be lopsided as well. That is a criticism that can apply to many Counter-Strike teams at the moment, so it is certainly not a malaise specific to Liquid. A look at DreamHack: Stockholm’s bracket reveals 8 one-sided maps (loser with less than 8 rounds) out of 17 total maps played. This count includes two 16-1s — one suffered by Astralis in the finals — and a 16-0 shutout — inexplicably surrendered in the semis by eventual champions North. With our squad experiencing difficulty in winning pistol rounds, this is something that the team will need to improve on moving forward.

On the other hand, this Liquid squad has an affinity for punishing strategic mistakes. In the match against Na`Vi, the team took advantage of Na`Vi’s tendency to take risks and capitalized on the mistakes caused by shifting set-ups. The entire team’s growth as communicators, and nitr0 as IGL, was evident throughout in site rotations and reads on their opponents’ positions. Moreover, there was a clear trust in the team to hit their shots — there was no need to play safe or scared. Every rifle on the Liquid side can clutch, and it only takes one or two to swing the tide of a game.

Heading into the London Major’s Legends stage, it's important to keep the pace they have set over the last few events, as well as the Challenger stage. Communicate, adjust, and trust in their teammates’ individual skills. Yes, for each ELEAGUE Premier, there has been an ESL Cologne, but the team will have learned from those disappointments. This group has only been together a little over five months, and we’ve progressively seen growth — and sometimes, growing pains — from each player and the squad as a whole.

The potential is there, and recent successes have cemented the team as a legitimate threat to any tournament. It’s been one month since we last saw the boys, and only they know what’s in store for the fans who’ll be watching live and at home. A bigger playbook? A more varied map pool? Positional switches? We certainly haven’t seen anything yet as we sailed through the Challenger stage without revealing much at all.

With 3 countries behind the Liquid banner, we are representing an entire Hemisphere. The ceiling will be high at the SSE Arena in Wembly, but this is the roster that can finally make the jump to champions.