Team Liquid's ready for payback against Team SoloMid
"If we're to play against Keith, it would be pretty funny!"
Or so says Team Liquid's grinning top laner, Diego "Quas" Ruiz. Team Liquid is coming into the NA LCS Week 7 Game of the Week ready for payback. They soundly took care of Team Dignitas in their Week 6 bout, and Quas believes Team SoloMid have wavered a bit as they've acclimated to their new AD carry, Yuri "KEITH" Jew.
Competing in the 2015 season under both rosters, Keith's in a unique position heading into the Game of the Week. Back in the Spring Split, he was a ferocious substitute for Team Liquid ahead of the arrival of Gwang-jin "Piglet" Chae. But now that he's on TSM, he's got to get used to the pressure of competing on the NA LCS stage again. It hasn't been announced which of TSM's two AD carries will be playing, but Quas assures us that Team Liquid isn't too worried about either one.
"Even though I think TSM is a pretty solid team, I think they're struggling a lot with the WildTurtle and Keith situation," he says, thinking back to his week of practice against TSM. According to Quas, Team Liquid needs to come up with a good draft, and he's convinced they can -- just like they did to get the best of Team Dignitas. "I think we'll be prepared for anything they can throw at us and I think we can just win."
And what if TSM throws Keith at them? "I don't know if he'll have any mental block against us, we haven't played against him yet," says Quas. "But I don't mind playing against Keith."
If he does end up facing off against his old AD carry, Quas knows exactly how he'll deal with him. "I think I'll just focus him every team fight because I know he's going to be out of position," he says with a brotherly laugh. "I know his ways from being on a team with him, so I'll make sure he dies in team fights."
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Keith's got other plans though. If he's plays, he says his sights are set on Piglet. "I think I always had confidence in myself to take on people," says Keith. "I've played against TSM before, I've taken on WildTurtle and Doublelift twice. So I don't think Piglet is that much different than them."
"Both Turtle and Doublelift are really established names," he continues. "Piglet, you can say he's bigger and better because he's a World Champion, but I've seen how he plays. I think I can do fine against him. Maybe even beat him."
But Quas isn't so convinced. "Piglet was kind of underwhelming when he first started with us," he admits, but once Keith came and exceeded expectations, Piglet -- and the rest of Team Liquid -- knew they needed to step up in order to find some team synergy. "I think we're just improving a lot with Piglet, and his attitude has improved dramatically," says Quas. "Even though I think there's a lot more to go in terms of carrying potential or other stuff in game, he's gotten so much better."
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Last weekend, Piglet showed off his improved carry prowess on Corki (8/2/14) and Sivir (6/0/3), dealing 39.1% of Team Liquid's damage and finishing up with a superb 15.5 KDA. He's come into his own as Team Liquid's quirky ADC, making smarter decisions and listening to the decisive calls of his teammates.
Yet the last time Team Liquid played against Team SoloMid in Week 4, it was one of Piglet's mistakes that cost the boys in blue the game. Liquid was ahead throughout most of the match, nabbing four Dragons, and constantly putting TSM on the back foot. That fourth Dragon would be their downfall though. As Piglet was making his way back to his teammates after killing the beast, he got caught out, forcing a team fight in the jungle. TSM were able to clean up in the consequent team fight after TL missed a few crucial ultimates, and that was all they needed to end the game.
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Liquid's grown since then, working on closing out games as soon as they have a clear lead instead of meandering around objectives or waiting for items. They pushed for a win in only 28 minutes in Week 6 against Team Dignitas, and that mentality will serve them well against the steadfast Team SoloMid, who seem content waiting for their opponents to make mistakes in order to push their own advantages.
Do you think Team Liquid will get their payback on Team SoloMid this weekend, or will we see a repeat of the Week 4 match? Let us know in the comments, and tune in to the Game of the Week on Lolesports on Sunday to find out what happens!
Leah Jackson is a web content editor at Lolesports. She loves Gnar! Feel free to follow her on Twitter @Leahbjackson.
