Sights on Spring: Doublelift

Esports is a whirlwind industry. It’s constantly changing, and moving faster than most can keep up with. In 77 days, one can go from hoisting a trophy to being fired from their job, it takes just nine words in a headline to make someone a free agent, and the only result that really matters is first.

The industry moves so quickly that the last time Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng stepped out into a roaring crowd, his world—our world—was entirely different. The rollercoaster of Doublelift’s career is displayed in the ebb and flow of his circumstance. On two separate occasions, ultimate domestic victory was met with the ultimate betrayal.

This miscorrelation between achievement and consequence is the most shocking aspect of the star AD Carry’s career, yet he rarely looks back. Since stepping off the Worlds stage in defeat, another year seemingly down the drain, he finds focus again. The 2018 NA LCS Spring Split features four new organizations, and 10 new rosters—for Doublelift, it’s all waiting to be conquered.






When asked about the first game of the split against his former team, general determination replaced the usual tone of revenge. “This is a really competitive split, I don’t really care who gets in the way,” he says, eyes trained on the longer goal. He bookends this drive with a desire to find success on Team Liquid and overcome the running joke surrounding the team’s placement. “Just let the meme die,” Doublelift states firmly, “I want to be on a good team and be respected, it doesn’t matter who gets in our way.”

In seven years of being hailed as one of the best in his region, Doublelift is brazen by nature of skill. Nevertheless, his maturity and experience protects confidence from complacency. When asked about his view of Team Liquid as an underdog this split, his reply shows a refusal to underestimate any opponent. “I don’t know what percentage of the community actually thinks we’re the big dogs but all the rosters are pretty much insane,” he says picturing the road before his new team.

He pauses and reconsiders the playing field before continuing with even greater intensity. “Who’s dumb enough to discount TSM and not just automatically give them the title of the best.” The admission motivates him even more. “They still have Bjergsen and Hauntzer, they believe as a team that they upgraded or they wouldn’t have made those changes … who’s dumb enough to not think TSM is still the top team.” The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Liquid Lift

For the first time in three years, an entirely new roster takes the rift under the Liquid banner. This means re-acquaintance with old friends along with the new bonds that have to be made. World champion Jeong “Impact” Eon-yeong is already proving his worth.

“Impact’s way better than I expected,” Doublelift puts it plainly with nothing but praise for his new toplaner. “You would not expect him to communicate super hard in game or be really confident with his in game communication and leadership but Impact makes so many calls,” he continues, surprised as Impact is still honing his English.



To Doublelift’s delight, these possible language barriers are showing little hindrance to team communication so far. “He speaks in memes a lot of the time,” he jokes, “Impact is just so good. He’s an insanely good player. Half our scrims he’s carrying.”

This communication is crucial for Doublelift to grow alongside his roster. In the past, silence pushed only his own feedback and criticism to the forefront, painting him in a negative light and stunting his team’s development. “I really like to have someone on the team I can bounce ideas off of and that is really communicating and contributing to the team’s gameplan and I think Impact does that a lot.”

His second new teammate, Olleh, differs from Doublelift’s most notable botlane partners in his extensive past as a pro player. Olleh’s competitive career spans four regions and five teams. “It’s really weird because Olleh’s one of the first supports I’ve played with in a long time who has played for a professional team,” he recalls, “When Aphro first started he was an AD Carry player switching to support. And Vincent—Biofrost—was a challenger solo queue player who had never played competitive before.”

While some would argue this inexperience was a weakness of his former duos, Doublelift finds the ability to help his support learn and grow crucial to landing on the same page. “Basically, they were very moldable.” This year, Doublelift looks to change his tune. “Olleh has a very specific playstyle that I think he likes. I really want to let him breath and let him do what he wants to do.”






In Doublelift’s eyes, Olleh’s unashamed playmaking style is what makes him unique. “There’s a reason why a player is considered good. They have certain qualities that make them good and Olleh is definitely considered a good player,” he says in regards to Olleh’s specific talents, “so I want to let him shine in the ways he wants to. I think we’re both just testing how flexible we are with one another.”

Doublelift’s mentality shows his care and deliberation for the game. He views the botlane as a collaborative road to success, avoiding any forceful motion towards either player’s gameplan. Nonetheless, the two are a work in progress. Doublelift admits, “I think mostly it’s me trying to give him feedback. He doesn’t necessarily come back at me with a lot of criticism. I wish he would though.”

As the two push forward into the Spring Split, open communication will be key to finding true synergy. With a laugh, Doublelift dives deeper into some of the more peculiar adjustments that may be necessary to improve, “he watches English television and has conversations with people all the time, but in game I talk so fast he doesn’t understand me some of the time. A decent amount.”

“I think Olleh’s gonna switch from watching Gossip Girls to my interviews or my streams or something,” he says through laughter, “I don’t know if it’s gonna help.” All jokes aside, Doublelift is hopeful for his growth alongside Olleh and is already enjoying their time duoing together.

Spring is in the Air

With only days remaining until the Spring Split begins, Team Liquid’s new duo is running short on time to work out the kinks. After the most intense off-season in NA LCS history, Doublelift will step on stage with a new jersey, new teammates, and new friends; but when he sits down and locks in that first draft, he’s the same kid playing the same game.

“Now that we’ve started scrims I’ve noticed how emotionally invested I am. I can get really worked up during practice. My expectation for any team is that we’re gonna be the best, but it’s a long journey, I just wanna make sure we’re all in the same boat.”

	Doublelift League of Legends