Team Liquid Worlds Potential

TSB Ghandi·Sep 5, 2019·1 votes·2,364 views

Found this neat video going over the TL and its players and it really got me thinking that NA might have a chance to do well this year.

I mean, there's so much legacy talent on this team and they've been together for long enough to be unstoppable in the LCS. Do I think they can definitively beat teams like G2 and SKT? Not really, but their post-group stage MSI run was pretty impressive.

I might be being optimistic but I have high hopes for TL this year. What do you all think? Do they have a chance to make it out of groups? Or am I getting my hopes up foolishly again?

5 Comments

ChompyWulfSep 6, 20192 votes

I'd say its a bit foolish. Impact may do very well in NA, but his best international success was way back in Season 3 when SKT was able to give him champ priority in lane time after time and Faker demanded a LOT of focus from enemies. I loved how great Xmithie fit for Immortals with the tank Jung meta, but he's not world class with aggressive jungling, which is very important in the current meta. Doublelift may very well have a slump at World's after finally escaping groups at MSI. He's so arrogant I find it hard to believe after success there he's still as motivated and focused. Jensen and Core JJ are probably the most consistently good players on TL, though against other top notch teams I doubt they can shoulder their team against the best in the World. I think they may be the best chance NA has to escape Groups, but think they will get swept in Quarterfinals.

Edit This could all be wrong, depending on what the patch they use will do to the metagame for Worlds. Riot has in recent years avoided drastic patches changes at this point in the year, so I trust the meta won't change much.

III BAKURYU III Sep 6, 20192 votes

G2, RNG and SKT at the moment should be the ONLY teams Team Liquid loses against, hopefully!

Oppose to previous Worlds - I'm actually confident for

I'm with Chompy that Team Liquid should make it out of groups but it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't I also agree that D-Lift is such an arrogant animal that it could cost TL in groups. You can't watch a single solo Q game where he doesn't say " YOU'RE SO BAD" at his teammates and tends to just be a solo Q style player, constantly trying to 1v5(he's gotten better) and eventually costing his team. 2016-2017 summoner 4 Lucian until it got to the point(2018) where he didn't do anything and TL was the most passive team at Worlds.
Doublelift's attitude and demeanor is why I never think his team can make it out of groups and well.....( 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) however, oppose to previous Worlds - I'm actually confident for Team Liquid because as I stated before, "G2, RNG and SKT at the moment should be the ONLY teams Team Liquid loses against, hopefully! "

These are the known pool 2 seeds(I think RNG will beat FunPlus to be the #1 Seed)

FunPlus Phoenix Griffin J Team AHQ Esports

I just don't see Team Liquid losing out against these teams to NOT make it out of Groups. I will go further and say Team Liquid will be the 1st Seed out of their group only because this year the overall teams all look weak compared to previous years.

Griffin looks to be the most passive and overall, weakest Korean team I've ever seen. J Team I have no data on them but AHQ just isn't what they once were and neither are the Flash Wolves(if they make it). Teams from the VCS should be fun to watch.

Overall, this looks to be a cut and dry Worlds where there are 1-2 favorites to win such(G2 Esports or SK Telecom T1) and Groups shouldn't be 100% predictable but close to it.

ChompyWulfSep 6, 20192 votes

I always expect every team to drop at least 1 loss they should have won. It's not common for a team to go 6-0 in groups and it seems that at least once a year a #1 from a major region doesn't escape groups.

Liquid can expect to be in group with at least one out of Griffin, RNG, and Fnatic, and while on paper Liquid SHOULD win, I wouldn't think it's a shock if they go 0-2 against any of them.

After watching highlights from each region, I'd say the champs from each region line up as

SKT
FPX
G2
TL Top two only dropped one loss in their best of 5 though SKT accelerated the game better than the LPL winners (crazy, right?), and since G2 beat TL badly at MSI I gave them an edge at 3. (If the Lee Sin buffs are active for Worlds, I'd actually give C9 higher ranking than TL because Svenskeren is nasty with that champ.)

III BAKURYU III Sep 7, 20192 votes

Liquid can expect to be in group with at least one out of Griffin, RNG, and Fnatic

Call me crazy but I would rather have TL be in a group with Griffin than RNG or Fnatic. Fnatic always shows up and even when they are (1-2 2015) or 0-4 in groups(2017) they still manage to make it out.
While D-Lift is good he's nowhere near the level of Uzi and TL as a core compared to RNG.
Against FNC and/or RNG yeah, 0-2 most likely.

I don't actually think a team will go 6-0 at Worlds this year but there has been 18 out of 80 teams that had 5+wins in groups since 2014. 6-0 5-1 5-1 5-2 in 2014 6-0 5-1 in 2015 5-1 5-1 5-2 5-2 in 2016 6-0 5-1 5-1 5-1 in 2017 6-1 5-1 5-2 5-2 in 2018

Last year was the first time 2 teams in the same year at Worlds went 0-6(Mad and G-Rex) both from the LMS and last year the LMS was much stronger than they currently are.

We will more than likely see 3 teams go 5-1 or + due to tie-breakers similar like FNC vs IG 2018 due to League being top heavy.

I thought 2018 Worlds was so boring to watch to the point where I actually didn't watch certain group stages and series. Really hope this upcoming Worlds is fun to watch and competitive.

BigBellBruteSep 8, 20192 votes

I think NA is sending two of the best teams it has ever sent.

That said so is EU. Never count SKT out. Just don't. As for Griffin well I wouldn't just assume they're going to keep choking even though they always seem to choke in Korea. IG is not playing well as of late but they have won it all and are capable of putting it together. China's #1 seed is playing very well and have all year, however. And overall, China is sending a strong group of 3. Also, the dumpster is littered with best teams ever sent that didn't make it out of groups.... Alliance, TSM, G2. All have had their failures. That G2 team of Expect, Perkz, Trick, Zven, and Mithy was supposedly stacked. Didn't even make it out of groups two years in a row despite having a wild card in their group both times. G2 finally made it out last year with the weakest of the pool 1 seeds and the weakest of the pool 2 seeds both in their group. But Sven and mithy (then on TSM) didn't even make worlds.

As for liquid, DL is in good form. They have upgraded both in the mid lane and in support. They have probably the most under appreciated jungler in NA history who is on 6 NA titles now, and they have Impact, who showed even though it isn't a tank meta, he can still whip out a tank any time he wants and he can play carry type top laners too!!! I've never seen an NA support play like core JJ.

I'm glad NA and EU are boot camping in EU. Hopefully, the other regions won't know what hit em.