Liquid 2017 Update: Lourlo, Matt, and Goldenglue

December 09 2016
2016 felt like a year of ups and downs. There was a lot of good to be had, but there were many growing pains that we had to live through. Right now, it's not about the past as we look to the future and begin planning our moves for the 2017 LCS season and beyond.

Our adventure begins with the addition of some young guns, and two of them will be giving the Rift another shot with the Liquid moniker. Samson "Lourlo" Jackson and Matt "Matt" Elento have grown a lot in and out of the game, and we're proud to welcome them back onto the main roster as our starting top laner and support.

For our midlaner, Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer will be taking the starting position. His work ethic and drive has shown us that he deserves to be elevated into the main roster, coming off some stellar performances as a member of Team Liquid Academy.





"I'm very excited to work with this core. They are driven to become the best and that's what we at Team Liquid are looking for. I fully believe that this team has aligned goals towards a championship and we can develop that level required to win. The recent Korea Bootcamp showed the level of dedication these guys have and I am very impressed with the professional qualities they posses. I get a sense of camaraderie from this group that will help us continue to help each other toward the same team goal."

- Coach David "Dlim" Lim






Select a player.

Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer
Mid



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Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer joined Team Liquid Academy at the start of the 2016 Challenger Series. As a long time gamer, he was able to quickly adapt to the professional life and became one of TL Academy's designated carries. After just falling short of making the LCS, his drive to win is larger than ever. With a spot on the main roster, he now has a chance to prove his worth.


"I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to be promoted from Team Liquid’s academy roster to the main roster and have a chance to prove myself in the LCS. Even though I have played in LCS before, this is the first time I have ever been the official starter for an LCS team and I'm looking forward to the growth that the intense responsibilities and challenges bring. I know I have big shoes to fill as FeniX has been a cornerstone for Team Liquid for the past two years, and hope I can live up to his legacy. I believe this next chapter of my life will be more exciting and challenging than ever before and I can not wait. Thank you to those who support me and give me the energy to follow through on my dreams."

- Greyson "Goldenglue" Glimer

Samson "Lourlo" Jackson
Top



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Plucked straight out of Chicago due to a last-minute team decision, Samson "Lourlo" Jackson became the starting top laner for Team Liquid in the beginning of 2016. With a ton of expectations, the young 17-year-old began to feel the pressures of being thrust onto a team with plenty of expectations. When everything seemed to crumble and criticism began to take toll, Lourlo did not falter.

As the 2016 season came to a close, Lourlo improved his play week-to-week, slowly being given the title as one of Liquid's key players. His ability to adapt to carry-style top laners as well as provide protection for the team on tank-style tops made him a versatile choice for the team and demonstrated his ability to put the team above all else.

"Thinking back to when I first joined Team Liquid, I had no clue what I was really getting myself into, but it ended up being the best decision of my life. Throughout my first split, I struggled a lot as a player trying to find my fit and role on the team. I came straight out of solo queue as more of a carry player, and I had to adapt to a brand new meta which revolved around playing tanks. As an added bonus, there were things I needed to learn from competitive play like 2v1’s, which was a big task for me to take on. Having to deal with the criticism from the community in my first split being a disappointment in comparison to Quas and being called the weakest link on the team at the time definitely got to me, but the end result for me was always to improve and strive to prove people wrong. With my newfound fire and hate from the community I think I finally started to take criticism on a more mature level and also developed the work ethic that was needed for me to improve at the fastest rate. Spring Split for me was insanely hard to overcome as a person; I had so many obstacles and hurdles to jump but I always kept pushing because I knew there was no way I reached my peak at 17.


As we went into the Summer Split I had this surge of confidence after the bootcamp in Korea even though our team did not improve a lot. I was so proud of how much I improved in terms of communication and mechanics that I felt like a new version of myself coming into summer even though our results didn’t show that at the start. In the bootcamp, I performed really well throughout scrims and one of my fondest moments that is still hilarious to me, was Fenix and Piglet calling me Sampai throughout the scrim blocks. I think they started to have confidence in me after I solo killed a few top LCK top-laners. Summer Split for me brought back a lot of my confidence and also some newfound confidence after being able to play more towards my style of play and getting a lot of resources playing carry champions towards the later end of the split which I loved. Even though we had a lot of roster shuffles with Dardoch’s suspension and Piglet moving to the academy team, Summer Split was really enjoyable for me as I grew even more as a player.


After looking back on my first two splits it's hard to believe how much I have grown, not only as a player, but as a person. Having to overcome so many obstacles throughout my first season just makes me so excited for what the future has to offer, and all I can really do is smile. With this newly formed roster I could not be more excited for what spring 2017 has to offer for Team Liquid and myself. I have never been more hungry and motivated at a time in my career until now and I want to keep improving, not only to prove people wrong, but to prove to myself that I belong here. As 2016 comes to a close I just want to thank everyone who has supported me and Team Liquid through thick and thin, and I hope you keep supporting us through this upcoming year. I promise we will not only be a team to cheer for, but a winning team."

- Samson "Lourlo" Jackson

Matt "Matt" Elento
Support



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As a native of Hawaii, Matt (formerly know as Matlife) played League of Legends in 'less than ideal' situations. Yet, the high ping and limited hardware did not stop the 18-year old from doing what less than 1% of the country could do: achieve Challenger ranking.

After an epiphany at the Summer Finals hosted inside the sold-out Madison Square Garden, he pushed on the realization that he could achieve something greater than a high rank on the leaderboard and make a career out of his mechanical prowess. Soon after, he packed his bags, made his way to LA, and ended up starting for Team Liquid in Game 2 of the 2016 Spring Split.

He never looked back.

"I can't wait to get back on stage again under Team Liquid this split. Looking back, even though there were things that were regretful, I'm grateful for what I've learned from last season. I have another chance to play with a great roster and I have no plans to waste it. I'm focused on making this Liquid's year and having no excuses; we're going all out. My goal this split is not only to exceed what I've accomplished last Spring Split, but to become the top player I dreamed that I could become back when I was still playing at my home in Hawaii. Thank you to the Team Liquid fans and a bigger thank you to my own fans who have followed me on my journey. My journey is just getting started."

- Matt "Matt" Elento