The Liquid Review: Mid-March - April

Happy Thursday folks,

The last month and a half or so has brought Team Liquid high highs and low lows. The utter routing we suffered in the LCS playoffs, along with race to world first burnout and our relatively early exit in Masters: Reykjavik may have left a sour taste in your mouth. But much like our fair org’s namesake, we can wash out some of that bitter taste with the refreshing flavors of CS:GO, Rainbow Six: Siege, and Apex. It just goes to show: April showers bring May firepower.

We're Liquid 'til we're dry.

Immaculate MS-Paint skills aside, it’s been a busy month and a half since we last came together to talk about what Team Liquid has been up to across its 20 or so rosters. Liquid published a William-Jennings-Bryan-esque defense of Twitch Chat in its latest profile of Dabuz. It hosted Eve Ascension, a VALORANT tournament for women and nonbinary folks (you can read a retrospective with the winners - The Dart Monkeys - here). And as always, Team Liquid had a whole heaping helping of tournaments on its plate over the last six weeks. So let’s dig in.

Editor's note: You can also catch some of these updates via TL;DW, a weekly rapid-fire recap that airs on Liquid's Twitter. We've put the links here in case you're interested:

League of Legends // Results:

• Regular Season - 14-4


• Playoffs - 3rd🥉




• 3-2 vs EG


• 2-3 vs 100T


• 0-3 vs EG

• Overall Standings (Top 10)
  
  
  
  • Armao - 9th
  
  
  
  
• Spring Split 2




• 6-10th - 20 points




• CoreJJ - 6th




• 11-25th - 10 points




• Armao 13th

• 26-50th - 5 points




• Eyla - 26th


• Hans Sama - 30th


• Bwipo - 33rd

League of Legends // Ahead:

• Champion's Queue




• Summer Season Split 1 - May 31 - June 26

The only good news coming out of Spring Playoffs for the LCS is that we still have another split to get better. Liquid wobbled in the first series against EG, trading blows for five grueling games before emerging victorious, earning the team a spot in the finals weekend in Houston. The winners’ final started with a promising 2-0 as well, but then Liquid tumbled off a cliff. 100T reverse-swept Team Liquid, and EG regular-swept us in the lower bracket in front of an energetic Houston crowd, leaving the squad to wonder what the hell happened that led us to lose six games in a row.

Losing hurts, and losing bad hurts even worse. It puts a sinking feeling in your gut to see the teamfight crumble and the Nexus fall. Maybe you feel a little out of breath as your stomach tightens, the frustration balling up as tight as a knot. It physically sucks to feel a loss like this, and that’s just as a fan. Imagine that feeling after dumping three months of grueling work into it, and falling short. Broxah put it best. “I’m sure all fans are incredibly disappointed by this result, and I know for a fact that the players are devastated as well. In moments like this, support means everything for players, please lift them up.”

Luckily, Liquid has a staunch support system, in their coaches, analysts, and in the best fan base in the world. While people who are way more League-savvy than us prepare for Summer, the best we can do is cheer on the Cavalry, and get ready for the next charge.

Of course, there’s good news too. Liquid`Academy absolutely demolished Proving Grounds, getting to the grand finals from the upper bracket in convincing fashion, and winning the tournament after eking out a hard-fought victory against 100T Academy in the grand finals. Liquid`Academy’s gold medal in proving grounds also netted the team $30,000—ironically, the same amount the LCS squad won for placing 3rd in Spring.

Armao and CoreJJ also won a little extra pocket money by finishing in the top 10 of Champions Queue. CoreJJ finished 6th in the second split, worth a cool $1,600, while Armao finished 9th in spring overall, good for $1,000.

The LCS won’t start back up until June, so we’ve got a whole month for the Squad to figure out how we can come together as a team and blast through the LCS on a summer revenge-tour like John frickin’ Wick. A lot of people think that this roster is already done for—that just because we’re down, we’re out.

Well, a lot of people don’t know Team Liquid.

Ever the Cavalry, when we fall, we stand back up, and get back on the horse. We’ve got the brains, we’ve got the talent, and we’ve got the will. All that’s left is to plan and execute.

DotA 2 // Results:

• Secret - 2-0


• OG - 0-2


• Brame - 2-0


• Entity - 2-1


• Tundra - 2-1


• Nigma - 2-0


• Gaimin - 1-2

DotA 2 // Ahead:

• Group Stage - May 12-17


• Playoffs - May 18-22

Just like our LCS team, Liquid’s DotA squad grabbed a bronze medal from the regional qualifier league. But unlike the LCS, the DPC sends the top four teams to the Major, so Liquid’s 3rd place finish lands us a spot in Stockholm in mid-May. Liquid got the spot with a 4-3 finish and a head-to-head win over Tundra to break the tie. Just through the DPC itself, Liquid earned $27,000 and 160 DPC points, which will be important down the road to qualifying for The International. This month, Liquid competes at ESL One Stockholm with a half-a-million bucks on the line, and an extra 3,000 DPC points or so. The groups have not yet been drawn, but the action starts May 12th, so stay tuned.

Rainbow 6 Siege // Results:

• NIP - 7x1 on Chalet


• BD - 7x5 on Border


• INTZ - 8x7 on Oregon


• w7m - 3x7 on Villa


• oNe - 6x8 on Kafe Dostoyevsky


• MIBR - 8x7 on Skyscraper


• 00 - 8x7 on Clubhouse


• FaZe - 7x3 on Villa

• ALPHA - 2-0




• 8x7 on Bank


• 7x3 on Kafe Dostoyevsky

• oNe - 2-0




• 7x2 on Clubhouse


• 7x4 on Villa

Rainbow 6 Siege // Ahead:

• Upper bracket final vs w7m esports - April 29


• Lower bracket final - April 30


• Grand final - May 1

• Group Stage - May 16-18


• Playoffs - May 20-22

The Cavalry charged into the regional Brazilian R6: Siege league with a chip on their shoulders. After a disappointing finish at the 2021 Six Invitational, Liquid was out for blood. Over the four-week season, Paluh and pals went 7-2, earning them 2nd place in the regular season, and a spot in the Copa Elite Six–the inter-regional Central- and South American qualifier tournament for the next international Major. At Copa Elite Six, Team Liquid won its first two matches in the upper bracket (both 2-0), which guarantees them a top 3 finish in the tournament, as well as a spot in Charlotte for the Major.

They’ll finish up the Copa Elite Six tournament this weekend, beginning with the winners’ final against w7m tomorrow. Even with a Major-qualification secured, Liquid is playing for more than just pride. First place at Copa Elite Six wins just short of $30,000, about three times as much as second place. To win the top prize however, Team Liquid will have to go through w7m, or face the lower bracket. w7m had Liquid’s number during the Brasileirão, beating us 7x3. This time, however, Liquid will be able to redeem themselves in a best of 3. And if they can’t manage it the first time around, they’ll have a second life in a run through losers.

After the dust settles at Cope Elite Six, Liquid`Siege heads to the United States for the Charlotte Major starting May 16th. Or, in the words of James Taylor, signs that might be omens say they’re goin’, goin’ gone to Carolina in their minds.

Can't you see the sunshine? Can't you just feel the moon shine?

CS:GO // Results:

• Group Stage




• BIG - 2-0


• GOD - 2-0


• Riders - 1-2


• Partyz - 2-0


• Players (fka Gambit) - 0-2

• Playoffs 5-8th




• Heroic - 2-0


• NIP - 1-2

• 00 Nation - 8-16 on Dust II


• oNe - 16-3 on Inferno


• paiN - 16-1 on Mirage


• EG - 2-0




• 16-9 on Vertigo


• 16-10 on Inferno

• Gaimin Gladiators - 2-0




• 16-6 on Mirage


• 16-4 on Vertigo




• EG - 2-1




• 8-16 on Overpass


• 16-10 on Vertigo


• 16-4 on Mirage




• Complexity - 2-0




• 16-14 on Overpass


• 16-9 on Ancient

CS:GO // Ahead:

• paiN Gaming - April 29


• Semifinals - April 30


• Finals - May 1

• Challengers Stage - May 9-12




• Round 1 - G2 - May 9


• Round 2 - TBA - May 9


• Round 3 - TBA - May 10


• Round 4 (if necessary) - May 11


• Round 5 (if necessary) May 12




• Legends Stage - May 14-17


• Champions Stage - May 19-22

It’s been another month and a half or so since our catastrophic February, and Liquid`Counter-Strike has already taken great strides towards becoming the elite team they can be. At ESL, Liquid overcame its Refrezh demons and beat Heroic 2-0. And even when NIP beat out the Cavalry, Liquid still kept things close on every single map.

That said, the team still faces some growing pains. Liquid stumbled out of the gate at the Antwerp Major qualifier, putting on a shockingly bad performance against 00 Nation on Dust II. But Liquid got back in the saddle and breezed through the rest of the qualifiers. Liquid dropped a total of 4 rounds over the next two games, and beat EG handily in the qualification match. The IEM qualifiers played out just about as smoothly too. Liquid cruised through the Gaimin Gladiators, and after an uncharacteristically bad performance on Overpass against EG, Liquid rallied, and won out the tournament over the next four maps against EG and Complexity.

All told, Liquid spent most of March and April making sure their schedules would be busy for May and June. The boys will cap off the month by competing in one more qualifier–this time for BLAST. This weekend, eight NA teams compete for one spot in the BLAST Spring Finals slated for June. Liquid begins its efforts against paiN Gaming tomorrow. After that, Antwerp is around the corner, where the Cavalry will battle it out against 23 of the best teams in the world for a million dollar prize pool, a massive chunk of qualification points toward future events, and the title of Major Champion. Then comes IEM Dallas at the end of the month, sporting a somewhat more modest prize pool of $250,000, and only slightly less prestige and acclaim.

VALORANT // Results:

Brazil

• Round of 16 vs Valhalla - 2-0




• 13-10 on Ascent


• 13-0 on Bind




• Round of 8 vs Stars Horizon - 2-0




• 13-8 on Bind


• 3-5 on Haven




• Semi-finals vs Gamelanders Purple - 2-1




• 13-6 on Ascent


• 11-13 on Haven


• 13-9 on Icebox




• Finals vs B4 Angels - 3-0




• 13-3 on Ascent


• 13-3 on Bind


• 13-2 on Haven

• Round of 64 - 0-2 vs SG e-Sports




• 5-13 on Icebox


• 5-13 on Haven

EMEA

• Round 1 - 2-1 vs G2




• 13-9 on Split


• 13-15 on Icebox


• 13-8 on Haven

• 10-13 on Split


• 9-13 on Haven

• 13-11 on Breeze


• 13-8 on Ascent

• 4-13 on Icebox


• 4-13 on Split

• 2-0 vs KRU




• 13-5 on Fracture


• 16-14 on Ascent




• 2-1 vs Xerxia




• 13-7 on Split


• 11-13 on Icebox


• 17-15 on Ascent




• 1-2 vs Loud




• 10-13 on Icebox


• 13-3 on Haven


• 10-13 on Ascent




• 1-2 vs Zeta




• 7-13 on Fracture


• 13-4 on Haven


• 7-13 on Split

VALORANT // Ahead:

EMEA

Brazil

Liquid’s European VALORANT team had a weird couple months. We finished 4th in playoffs, which should have meant that we didn’t get to go to Masters: Reykjavik. But the region’s top team, FPX, was unable to travel to Masters because of travel restrictions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Their place at Masters fell to Liquid as the next highest team.

And the boys acquitted themselves reasonably well at the tournament considering they weren’t supposed to be there. Liquid made it out of the group stage as the top seed in Group B (placing ahead of the eventual champions, Optic). We dropped out quickly in playoffs, but only after close 1-2 losses to LOUD and Zeta, who ended up placing 2nd and 3rd at the tournament, respectively. The team returns from the first international event with more experience under its belt, and gets ready to begin the VCT grind again on May 13th. The schedule hasn’t been released yet, but it has a slightly modified format as the first split. There will still be a round robin group stage, but only 6 teams will qualify for the double-elimination bracket in playoffs, rather than 10.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Liquid’s Brazilian VALORANT squad dominated yet another Game Changers event, dropping only one map across the entire tournament. Liquid had a back-and forth match against Gamelanders Purple (their former team), but absolutely demolished B4 Angels in the finals, losing a total of 8 rounds across three games. Seriously.

Unfortunately, Liquid fared less well in the VCT qualifier; we got our clocks cleaned by SG e-Sports, who eventually made it to the final qualifier. This defeat sadly spells the end of our road to the Brazilian VCT until 2023. But there’s still more Brazilian VALORANT action this month as Liquid will likely return to the third qualifier for the first series of the VCT Game Changers tournament beginning May 5th. Liquid has already locked a spot in the main tournament, but there are two more qualifiers left for the Cavalry to solidify their dominance and continue to improve as we ultimately seek a spot in tier one events.

Quake // Results:

• 3-0 vs ZenAku


• 1-2 vs dramiS


• 0-3 vs k1llsen

Quake // Ahead:

• Week 8 vs cypher


• Week 9 vs RAISY


• Week 11 vs nosfa


• Week 12 vs vengeurR

Rapha began the QPL on a hot streak, but he’s since cooled down. He was able to take care of business against ZenAku, but lost his undefeated streak the following week, and got absolutely obliterated by k1llsen. In fairness, pretty much everybody’s getting obliterated by k1llsen. The QPL continues through May; Rapha’s biggest two matchups are against RAISY and vengeurR, who placed second and first at the Quake World Championship last year, respectively. Rapha in particular will be looking for revenge against RAISY, who knocked Rapha out of the World Championship in the Losers’ Final.

WoW // Results:

• World First - 7 bosses


• World Second - 3 bosses


• World Fifth - 1 boss

• Mythic Dungeon International 2022 Group Stage (Team Baldy) - 2nd 🥈


• Arena World Championship Season 3 Cups: 4th overall




• Cup 1 - 5-6th


• Cup 2 - 1st 🥇


• Cup 3 - 4th


• Cup 4 - 9-12th

WoW // Ahead:

Ironically, the Race to World First told the story of a guild that reached its Limit. Team Liquid’s new guild smashed its head against the jailer 370 times before the bastard finally died. After spending literal days trying to break through the final boss, the burnout overcame Liquid, and the guild decided to throw in the towel. Liquid took the rest of the weekend off, and came back on Monday to finally finish the race, taking fifth overall.

Liquid’s first race showed how strong the guild is, though. The squad ended the race taking world first on 7 of the 11 bosses, and world second on three of them. The raiders created one of the coolest moments in raiding history after a tank literally solo-killed a mythic raid boss for world first. And if you got a chance to tune into the raiders for even a couple of minutes, you’ll know how much fun they had together doing it. But even more importantly, the Team Liquid community raised $35,000 for Girls Who Code.

Meanwhile, it turns out that WoW Esports run, like, really deep. Between the Arena World Championship and the Mythic Dungeon Invitational, Blizzard is putting up $1 million in prizes for the best gamers Azeroth has to offer, and you better believe that includes Team Liquid. Liquid’s arena team was hard at work in March placing high in the Arena World Championship cups, earning enough points to win a spot in the Arena Circuit beginning at the end of May. Meanwhile, Team Baldy (comprised of Imfiredup, lepan, Lip, and Shakib from Team Liquid, as well as jdotb from Golden Guardians) snatched a spot in the Global Finals of the Mythic Dungeon International Tournament after placing 2nd in a group of 8 teams.

Smash // Results:

• Hungrybox in Melee - 5th


• Ultimate:




• Dabuz - 9th


• Atelier - 33rd

• Hungrybox in Melee - 2nd 🥈


• Ultimate:




• Dabuz - 9th


• Atelier - 9th

Smash // Ahead:

• Hungrybox in Melee


• Dabuz in Ultimate

Atelier has entered the building. Liquid’s newest Smash signing has arrived in the United States to begin competing at major tournaments. The Pokemon Trainer main from Japan began with a rough start at GENESIS, running into Bassmage's Puff, a matchup that he probably didn't get much prep for in Japan. But he made a decent run at Pound, beating one of Japan's historic greats in KEN and finishing 9th, right alongside Dabuz. (Plus, half the commentators said his name right so that's a big W.)

And of course, Hbox continues to mount his comeback to godhood in Melee. At Pound 2022, the Jigglypuff GOAT went on a tear through the winners bracket, including an impressive win over SFAT. He was also able to beat an on-fire aMSa 3-1 in the losers’ final before falling to Zain in the grand final. And even with a more modest 5-6th finish at GENESIS, Hbox still put up impressive wins against Mango and lloD.

It’s also worth noting how uncannily prescient Edwin Budding was in his predictions for Hbox’s tournaments. In a Smash Bracketology article published before GENESIS, Edwin Budding profiled 8 opponents Hbox could face. Between GENESIS and Pound, Hbox faced 6 of them. After the dust settled, Edwin was 5/6. Hbox won his matches against Ben, Polish, and aMSa, where he had a 50+% chance of winning according to the article. He also lost to IBDW and Zain, where he was given a 30% and 12% chance of winning, respectively. The only matchup the article got wrong was Hbox’s stunning 3-0 win over Mango (the article gave him a 33% chance). But frankly, even Hungrybox couldn’t believe that set happened.

Ahead, Dabuz and Hungrybox head to Round Rocks, Texas for Low Tide City 2022 this weekend. Last year, Dabuz finished the tournament 2nd behind MkLeo, and he’ll be back with a vengeance to take the whole thing. Interestingly enough, Dabuz will also appear as a commentator for the tournament. Also this month, Hungrybox heads back to Los Angeles for Smash Summit 13. He’ll get a chance for revenge against Zain and iBDW, especially with the fancy new drill-rest confirm that solobattle discovered.

Age of Empires IV // Results:

• DeMuslim in Round 1 - 9th


• Round 2:




• DeMuslim - 4th


• Kelazhur - 33rd




• Round 3:




• DeMuslim - 9th


• Kelazhur - 33rd

Age of Empires IV // Ahead:

• Group Stage - May 7-22


• Bracket Stage - May 28-29

When we last left off, DeMusliM had just signed with Team Liquid as the organization’s first full-time AoE IV player. Keyword: full-time. Because who can forget Kelazhur, Liquid’s favorite Brazilian StarCraft player dipping his toes into AoE. Kelazhur joined DeMusliM in the second round of the Golden League, a six-week tournament with a prize pool of more than $135,000.

DeMusliM went on a good run in the first round before the one-two punch of TheViper and SortOf took him out in 9th. In the second round, 1puppypaw knocked both Kelazhur and DeMusliM into the lower bracket. Kelazhur was able to win his first round there, but bowed out in the next. DeMusliM went on a tear in the lower bracket, taking close wins against both the Spanish brothers LucifroN and VortiX before falling yet again to TheViper to finish fourth.

In the third round, DeMusliM and Kelazhur actually drew each other in their openers, and Kelazhur forfeited like a gentleman. Kelazhur was able to win one more round before getting knocked out. DeMusliM, on the other hand, dropped to the lower bracket after the round of 16, and crawled a few more rungs up the ladder before 1puppypaw knocked him out of the bracket. Still, DeMusliM’s performances over the three stages of the event were enough to secure him a spot in the playoffs for the Golden League, which will run through May.

StarCraft II // Ahead:

• Groups - April 29


• Playoffs - April 30 - May 1

• Qualifier 1 - May 4


• Qualifier 2 - May 6


• EU Main Event - May 18 - June 5


• QLATAM Main Event - May 18-22

• Round 1 vs KaiZi - May 2


• Round 2 vs Alpha X - May 8


• Round 3 vs Team GP - May 14


• Round 4 vs PSISTORM Gaming - May 21


• Round 5 vs Shopify Rebellion - May 29

Sadly, Liquid said farewell to uThermal this month. uThermal was with Team Liquid for five years, putting up consistent WCS playoffs runs, and an impressive 5th place finish at TSL 5 in 2020. uThermal was an excellent representative for the game that served as one of the foundations for the organization, and he will be dearly missed.

Still, the season goes on. After a drought of major tournaments for StarCraft II, DreamHack is back. Clem has already qualified for the European main event, and Kelazhur has already qualified for its Latin American counterpart. That leaves MaNa as the odd one out. He’ll need to make it through one of the qualifiers to join his teammates at the regional main events on May 18th. Placing high enough at these regional tournaments earn players a spot in what I believe to be the first international StarCraft II LAN since the pandemic hit. The qualifying players will meet in Valencia in July for a slice of $100,000. Clem, MaNa, and Kelazhur all have a chance to be there, and the journey begins this month.

The coming month also brings the return of the World Team League organized by a group of Chinese commentators. The league spans 11 rounds over the next two months, pitting 12 teams against each other in a round robin for the regular season. Each round, the teams match up in three best of 2s. If the series ends 3-3, the teams play a best of one ace match to determine who wins the series. Liquid returns to the league hoping to improve on its 5th place finish in January, but with the departure of Harstem and uThermal, it has fewer players to work with. Clem, Kelazhur and MaNa are more than capable of filling that gap, however, and they’ll continue to carry the Liquid banner, starting next Monday against KaiZi, an international team based in China.

Fortnite // Ahead:

• Qualifiers - May 2-15


• Semi-Finals - May 20-22


• Finals - May 28-29

I’ll be honest with you all, I just can’t bring myself to track down all the cash cups. There’s so many of them, and eventually, they all just become names and numbers on a page without any meaning to me. But the second installment of this year’s Fortnite Champion Series starts back up this May, with qualifiers starting as early as May 2nd!

The FNCS gives players two different ways to qualify for the finals. You can qualify directly to the finals with a victory royale in any of the 15 matches during the three qualifier weekends. Or you can place well enough to make the semi-finals. The semi-finals take place over three rounds, seeding an additional 35 teams into the finals. About half those seeds come from victory royales as well, and the other half from consistently placing highly across all the rounds. Once finals roll around, the top 50 teams play 12 matches until eventually crowning a champion. Across seven regions, the FNCS has put up a prize pool of more than $3 million. It’s not the Fortnite world cup, but it’s still one of the biggest events in esports, and you can bet that Liquid`Fortnite is getting ready to drop.

PUBG // Results:

PUBG // Ahead:

• Week 1 - April 29 - May 1


• Week 2 - May 6-8

When last we left off, Liquid had just picked up Vard as the newest member of the PUBG Squad, but shortly afterward, Fuzzface joined Team Liquid as a coach. Fuzzface was previously FaZe Clan’s in-game leader and captain, and since joining, he’s been preparing the boys to take on the rest of Europe at the first event of the season, G-Loot. There, with a smattering of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes, Liquid ended the tournament in 4th place and second most kills in the tournament. A few days later, Team Liquid repeated the feat in a mickey mouse tournament, the PSL Spring Showdown 2022. Playing a lobby with roughly 50% pro teams and 50% amateur, Liquid took fourth again.

This coming weekend, the real test begins. The PCS 6 is the first major regional tournament of the PUBG season, and it boasts a $250,000 prize pool and a significant amount of PGC Points that will qualify teams for the Global Championship at the end of the year. Liquid and 15 of the best teams in Europe have two weeks and 30 total maps to rise to the top of the leaderboard and prove that they’re the best team in the region

Apex // Results:

Apex // Ahead:

• Group Stage - April 29


• Bracket Stage - April 30


• Finals - May 1

Liquid`Apex has arrived in Utrecht, ready for playoffs.

At the beginning of the year, EA made plans for three international Apex tournaments, a massive expansion of the Apex Legends Global Series piloted in 2021. But because of the pandemic, it had to make hard compromises, and limit the first split of the ALGS to regional competition. But now travel restrictions have been lifted sufficiently, and the first official international Playoffs of the ALGS will begin in Stockholm this weekend. The tournament has pulled in competition from all over the world, each vying for a share of a $1 million prize pool, and points that will help them qualify to the ALGS Championship in July. Liquid’s new Apex roster punched its ticket to Sweden by finishing the North American Split 8th overall. They have a grueling task ahead of them.

ALGS Playoffs begins with the group stage. Before the tournament, EA separated the 40 teams into 4 groups of 10. Tomorrow, every team at the tournament will play 3 rounds of 6 maps each, competing in lobbies with each of the other groups. Once the dust settles, the top twenty teams head to the winners’ bracket, while the bottom ten teams fall to the losers bracket round 1. Both the winners’ bracket and the first round of the losers’ bracket play another six maps on Saturday. On the winners’ side, the top 10 teams go to the finals; the losers’ side eliminates the bottom 10 teams. Everyone else comes together one more time in the losers’ bracket round 2, where the top 10 teams after 6 rounds join the finals as well. This Sunday, the ALGS will crown its first playoff champion. The top 20 teams will play as many maps as necessary until a team with 50 points wins a map.

Free Fire // Results:

The first stage of Brazil’s regional Free Fire league has concluded. Team Liquid earned a place in the Final Stage of the league, but fell short of qualifying to the Free Fire World Series. Although the team showed flashes of brilliance, including an 11-kill 3rd place finish in round 8, inconsistency once again plagued Liquid, landing us in 10th out of the 12 teams. Still, Liquid stays in the Series A–the highest level–thanks to the Cavalry’s efforts across the series. Stage 2 of Series A has not yet been scheduled, but it won’t come until after the World Series concludes in late May.

Rocket League // Ahead:

• Regional Event 1




• Open Qualifier: April 29


• Closed Qualifier: May 1


• Main Event: May 6-8

• Regional Event 2




• Closed Qualifier: May 15


• Main Event: May 20-22

• Regional Event 3




• Closed Qualifier: May 29


• Main Event: June 10-12

After a frigid, unyielding winter, Oski, AcroniK, and Atow have been getting warmed up for another shot at the RLCS. To get there, Liquid had to grind through an open tournament with more than 300 teams just to make it to the closed qualifier of 16 teams. Out of those teams, only 8 make it to the main event, where $100,000 is on the line, along with a bundle of RLCS Circuit Ranking Points, which will be used to determine which teams to invite to the London Major in late June.

Hearthstone // Results:

• Bunnyhoppor in EU - 5-6th


• Fr0zen in NA - 7-8th

• Fr0zen - 145th


• Bunnyhoppor - 176th

Hearthstone // Ahead:

• Fr0zen


• Bunnyhoppor


• Deaddraw

This month closes a chapter in the story of Liquid`Hearthstone, as the Bunnyhoppor and Fr0zen competed in Grandmasters for the last time. Blizzard decided to close down Grandmasters after this year, and only the top three players of each region qualified for the Last Call tournament down the road. Bunny and Fr0zen both finished in the top eight of the tournament, but couldn’t get to the podium.

The pair took the second Masters Tour tournament with similarly admirable results. In a pool of something like 400 competitors, both Bunny and Fr0zen finished high enough to take a sliver of the prize pool—a cool $630 each. Both also qualified to the third Masters Tour event by virtue of being Grandmasters, and Deaddraw earned a spot in the online finals by finishing at the top of the ladder. They’ll each be competing this weekend for a share of a $250,000 prize pool and the title of Masters Tour Champion.

Teamfight Tactics // Results:

• AKAWonder in EU - 27th


• Goose in NA - 2nd


• Robin in NA - 7th

Teamfight Tactics // Ahead:

THE GOOSE IS ON THE LOOSE. I REPEAT. THE GOOSE IS ON THE LOOSE. The TFT artist formerly known as GV8 has qualified to the world championship, which will take place this Wednesday. Goose barely scraped by the first day of competition, but completely demolished the competition in the second day, placing in the top three in 5 of his 6 games, and winning 2 of them. He fared slightly less well in the finals, but he was consistently able to take top four in his games, finishing the tournament in 2nd overall, and earning a spot in the world championship. Goose’s qualification brings Liquid`TFT back to the world championship for the third set in a row now.