Team Liquid Struggling At Berlin Major
The ongoing Berlin Major is filled with surprises and upsets. While most teams are adapting to the new patch, some have already figured out what works for them. However, it was surprising to see Team Liquid, the team that went to both the grand finals of The Lima Major and DreamLeague Season 19, struggling to find their footing.
Just Draws, Nothing More
Team Liquid was one of the favourites to win The Berlin Major. The team secured the top seed in the Western Europe Tour 2 playoffs, directly qualifying for The Berlin Major. However, in The Berlin Major, the team tied their debut series against Team Aster. Team Liquid yet again tied the two series that followed Team Aster. The team secured their first-ever clean victory in their series against TSM. But their victory was shortlived, as Gaimin Gladiators, the team’s arch-rival, crushed them in two swift games taking the series.
Many expected that Team Liquid would be behind Gaimin Gladiators at Group A, but sometimes reality can be disappointing. With a score of one win, three draws, and one loss, the team is tied with Evil Geniuses and is at risk of elimination. The team will have to step up their game in their remaining matches if they want to advance to the playoffs of The Berlin Major.
New Patch Problems?
Team Liquid was known to play a fast-tempo playstyle revolving around their mid. Their playstyle was effective in the last meta, yielding great results. The playstyle would allow Team Liquid to play aggressively at the end of the laning stage. This aggressive playstyle would snowball into the midgame, allowing Team Liquid to shut down the access to the map for the other teams and choking them to tap out.
However, in Patch 7.33, the map got bigger. It becomes impossible to shut the access to the map regardless of the momentum. Even though Patch 7.33 was intended as a fast-paced meta, the overall length of the matches became longer. Team Liquid needs to adapt to the meta as fast as possible if they don’t want to fall behind. Furthermore, they need to figure out what works for them to yield better results in their crucial remaining matches to survive the group stages at The Berlin Major.