Liquid`Inori and the Return of the 10 Man Roster

June 22 2017

Inori joins while Link departs;
Liquid to expand to a 10 man roster

Destiny knocked on our door, and it was impossible for us not to answer. We're delighted to announce that we have signed Rami "Inori" Charagh from Phoenix1.

"My league ID before joining P1 was actually ‘Liquid Inori’ so I think it'll be cool to finally go by that tag for once. I'm excited to work with Steve and Cain — I think Cain is an amazing coach and I look forward to working with him."

- Rami "Inori" Charagh

Born in Baghdad, Iraq and a resident of Vancouver, Inori is a classic solo queue star gone LCS Pro. In his debut split for Phoenix 1, visa issues slowed his start but he quickly affirmed himself as one of North America’s most promising carry jungle talents. His breakthrough performance occurred in the 2016 Summer Split, where he carried Phoenix1 and inflicted TSM’s only series loss of the season. Throughout the past year, he has contributed several MVP showings on signature champions such as Rengar, Rek’sai, and Hecarim. His scoreline during the 2017 Spring Promotion Tournament was staggering: 20.5 KDA, 82% kill participation, and a 100% first blood rate. Inori will now bring his talents to Team Liquid, and we’re excited to see him grow into his own.

A Return to the 10 Man Roster

The addition of Inori marks our first step towards the return of a 10 Man Roster.

Team Liquid was a pioneer in employing a 10-man roster, and we were able to see its positive effects in 2016. The benefits of roster flexibility and in-house scrims allowed us to make strides in every one of our players.

We want to act pro-actively for the future and our strategy is twofold.

First, we want to create a competitive team within our current one for in-house practice and development. We have historically found success through fielding both an LCS and an academy team, and we would like to go back to our roots. Out of the last 26 major domestic league competitions since 2011, Team Liquid has placed fourth or higher 21 of them.

The second is to provide an opportunity for up-and-coming players who have climbed to the top of the challenger ladder. We will be able to further develop their skills and talents; our potential new recruits can plug into the resources of our organizations to reach the next level. As a testament to our ability to field an LCS-caliber Academy team, TLA was one game away from moving on to the qualifying match for promotion to the 2017 LCS Spring Split.

Liquid has a long history of discovering new talent, and many past and present players in the LCS have previously played in the Liquid or Curse family. To be exact, over 130 League players in NA, EU, KR and OCE. We take great pride in our ability to develop an LCS-tier academy team, and we will continue to espouse the same values that have allowed our players to establish their careers. Hard work will get you noticed and give you the tools to succeed.

Our academy team will be provided on-site living, salary and integrated into our training facility. If you are a challenger player not currently signed to a team, and are interested in talking with us, please email us at support@teamliquid.net.

”Sometimes adversity and failure can serve as inspiration for ingenuity. Without relegations last split, we wouldn’t have Cain. If not for these losses, we may not have seen the issues holding us back from our potential. Now is that exact moment where the easy choice is to fall to the pressure, the hateful comments and the doubt. It’s almost enough to paralyze us.

But to that I say HELL NO. We will not back down from the challenges we are facing. We will find solutions, just as we always have. We will be defined by how we rise from this.

The 10 man roster is just the start and signing Inori conforms with our plans for the present and the future. We could not turn down the opportunity to sign a great player like Rami because he combines a valuable mix of potential and the ability to help our team from Day 1. We believe this is a step in the right direction, but we understand that there are no guarantees.

We know that we have a lot of work to do this season, and we hope that our efforts will translate to more visible results. Our players and staff have been working tirelessly and I know we will see improvements soon. Stay tuned for additional developments within the next weeks.”

- Steve Arhancet

In light of all this great news, we must, however, announce the regretful departure of Link. We have come to a mutual agreement that his efforts will be better spent doing awesome things in China in the very near future, rather than participating with us as a part of our extended roster. We wish him luck on his new adventure and hope that he succeeds in all his future endeavors.

Thank you to all our fans for always supporting us. Keep an eye out for updates and expect to hear more from us soon!