An Update on Overwatch

September 15 2017

It is widely known that the elder members of our Overwatch team have histories in other games. A few weekends ago, Rapha, DaHanG and id_ all competed in QuakeCon 2017. We previously announced that rapha, often considered the greatest Quake player in history, had decided to commit to Quake full time.

Because of recent developments, azk has also chosen to return to CS:GO. He was considered a talented player during the early years of CS:GO, and we hope that he will be able to recover his form and find success in his first game.

With our core moving back to their original games, we were in a difficult position regarding the future of the team. Instead of searching for a band aid solution, we have decided to release shadder2k and Fury from their contracts. They are two of the best young players in the scene, and we did not want to keep them locked on our roster while we assess our next move. We are confident that they will be able to find new homes, and we wish them luck in their futures in Overwatch.

Last but not the least, we would like to announce MESR's retirement from competitive Overwatch.

My time with Liquid is cut short, but the memories created in thanks primarily to their support and their staff are timeless. A short while after Overwatch Contenders Season Zero, Victor gathered us into a call to discuss the future of the team. It was not entirely unexpected considering how many other esports organizations had dropped their rosters due to the looming Overwatch League, but was still a bitter ending to our run. The last few weeks were especially promising due to our bootcamp provided by Nvidia, and Liquid doing everything they could to help us improve our roster and performance by flying in Fury and Shadder into the states. But all good things must come to an end.

For the past month I have been re-evaluating my options. I've had discussions with close friends and family, and really looked inward into what I wanted to do in my future. After much deliberation, I think it's safe to say I'm going to be taking an indefinite time away from Overwatch. This is not a conclusion I've come to recently, as I've thought about this many times in the past. To put it simply, I haven't fully enjoyed playing Overwatch for awhile now, and with that I think my passion for the game and the competitive aspects have slowly dwindled or faded away. I think this is somewhat noticeable if anyone has noticed my in-game level being probably the lowest out of any professional, somewhere below 300 last I checked. I'm not sure if I will return to Overwatch, but if I did it would probably be an a different capacity; an analyst, a coach, something like that.

My opinions on becoming a professional to any aspiring Overwatch players reading this: You have to have a good mental attitude, be hard working, and to be humble. It will go a long way. Practice makes perfect, but don't burn yourself out. Don't be afraid to take breaks as needed. Listen to your coaches.

Lastly, a few personal shout-outs.

I'd like to personally thank Victor (@liquidnazgul) for all the help he was providing in the last few months of our roster's run. Without him personally stepping in to help us get what we needed, I doubt we would have had the performance increase I personally felt we did.

To Tephus (@tephus), our manager, for putting up with all our shenanigans and dealing with stuff I didn't want to.

To my Quake-loving teammates Dahang, id, and rapha (@liquiddahang, @liquidid, @liquidrapha). The team would not have gone as far as it did without you. It was awesome playing with you guys, and good luck in your futures in Quake!

To AZK (@liquidAZK). You were a god in Counter-Strike and then you were a god in Overwatch. He truly is, the North American player, but the titan... the titan, he is the french stars. Good luck, I hope to see your return in CS!

To Shadder2k (@liquidshadder2k). You're talented. You're also funny as heck. You have a good future ahead of you in whatever game you choose, Overwatch or not. Good luck, sha๐Ÿ…ฑ๐Ÿ…ฑer

To Fury(@liquidfury). Thank you for playing with us. You will do good on any team! ํ™”์ดํŒ…!

To Hulk(@internethulk). You are a great guy. I know you truly believed in us and tried your best to help us. Thank you. If you're ever around in Charlotte again we can go out for that beer I owe you.

A huge thanks to all the Team Liquid staff.

To 1UP Studios (@1UPGG). They are amazing at what they do.

And of course, to Mike (@ThixNation). Super amazing, friendly guy. It was a pleasure working with you.

- Adam "MESR" De La Torre



We will be examining our options over the coming weeks, and we will be releasing updates as they come. Thank you everyone for supporting the team, and we encourage everyone to continue to cheer for our players in their new teams or games.