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A brief history of Liquid

Riot·2/18/2016, 11:04:11 PM·2 votes·19,569 views

To describe Liquid's journey through the North American LCS as tumultuous would be an understatement.

Through all the trials and tribulations, they've battened down the hatches and weathered the storm. Other organizations might have crumbled. In fact, there are more than a few that have. Though it seems no matter what the universe is willing to throw at Liquid, they've always been willing to throw it right back. Part of this resilience of spirit comes from the driving force behind the team, Steve "LiQuiD112" Arhancet, the co-owner of Liquid, who has been fighting for his team and driving them forward at all cost.

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The early days

Steve was a gamer before Windows was even a thing. He was playing on MS DOS and had an index card box full of command prompts for his favorite games. It was something that had always been so much a part of his life, but it just didn't seem like a lucrative career path. So he did the responsible thing -- he went into finance.

But beneath the suit and tie, a competitive gamer was always lurking. It would make its first appearance at the ESL Pro League.

"The ESL Pro League was like a Sunday League tournament where the best teams in League of Legends would play each other. It was invitation only, though there was one spot in the League where if you wrote them an essay on why you thought your team was the best you could join. So I decided to write this essay. I didn't even have a team at the time. I was like, 'yeah, we've got this great team, we're awesome.' Then they were like 'that's great, you're in.'"

Now he actually needed a team

The players he would scramble to put together would go on to be some of the future stars of the LCS. People like Eugene "Pobelter" Park, David "Cop" Roberson and Joedat "Voyboy" Esfahani. The more they played together the better they got, and it became apparent that Steve was actually going to have to start paying his players. "So I started looking for sponsorships. I signed my first deal, then my second deal, then my third deal. I was like, 'hey, this is going really well.'"

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"Once I started getting bigger and bigger sponsorships, I thought I might be able to do this full time. So I asked all my friends and family and said 'do you think I should move out to LA and manage a bunch of young kids and play video games for a living and leave this career that I've been building for the last eight years or so in finance?' I was making great money, I just bought a beautiful penthouse condo, I was driving a nice car. I was kinda settled into life."

As to how people responded, Steve burst into laughter. "Either 'no' or 'fuck no you're stupid' and I just decided fuck it, I'm going to do it anyway because I just gotta follow my heart."

Talking to Steve, however briefly, it's this kind of attitude that really seems to shape him as a person. He has passion and enthusiasm, the kind that says he won't necessarily always make the right decisions in life, but at least he's making them for the right reasons. As for his reasons for jumping into the esports industry, he still gives the same answer today as he did back then.

"The number one reason is that I would love to see this industry grow. I may not have the financial resources or investment background to make a big splash, but if I work really hard and, I can make some sort of impact within the industry, I'll have achieved what I wanted."

A curious title

Steve eventually settled on the naming rights sponsor to his League of Legends team, Curse Inc. An online gaming portal and network of gaming websites, Curse Inc. was one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Steve changed his League of Legends team name to Team Curse and sent them down the river towards the Liquid that we know today.

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"We've had a pretty tumultuous performance in League of Legends. Highs and lows. I think there were seasons where we started 8-0 or 9-0 and then there were a couple where we were on the brink of being relegated. We've been one game away from going to Worlds, after starting 2-0 [in a Playoff series]. That happened twice to us. If TSM would have beaten CLG in MSG we would have gone to Worlds, even though we beat Team Impulse. It's always been just out of grasp."

Early results for Team Curse were mediocre throughout Season 1. They generally placed between 4th and 8th in IPL, MLG, and other major events. What might be regarded as the modern Team Curse era started in Season 2 when they moved into their first gaming house, and players Pobelter and Alberto “Crumbzz” Rengifo had to be replaced because they couldn’t move in with the rest of the team. They were replaced by Jonathan “Westrice” Nguyen and Brandon “Saintvicious” DiMarco.

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In Season 2 they would make the finals of MLG 2012 Summer against Team Dignitas. But because of a situation where both teams ARAM’d (grouping mid with random champions) and agreed to split the prize money instead of playing out the Final in earnest, they were both disqualified. Then came the Season 2 Regionals where they would lose to both TSM and Counter Logic Prime, finishing 4th place. Not only would they not automatically qualify for the LCS, but they would also miss out on Worlds.

To make it into the LCS they would have to do so through the Offline Qualifier, which they would make it through without dropping the a single game. They hit the inaugural Spring Split running and won their first seven games. They would finish in 2nd place behind TSM with a record of 19-9. Losses to Good Game University (who would eventually become Team Coast) and Vulcan would see them once again finish in 4th place.

Something about 4th was becoming oddly familiar.

More than a Curse in name

2013 and 2014 were littered with 4th place finishes. It was as if there really was a 4th place curse hanging over their heads. Steve laughed as I brought it up, but hindsight is 20/20, and it would be far easier for him looking back on it than living through it.

"It's pretty serendipitous that today, the day we're doing the interview, we're in 4th place and we're 4-4; it's funny. There is definitely evidence in the past of us continuing to finish 4th, even when we finish 3rd, technically. Riot changed the rules on who would qualify for Worlds and it wasn't top three [in Summer] anymore, it was the gauntlet thing. Even though we technically finished 3rd it was really 4th. It sucks.”

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During the offseason between 2014 and 2015, Team Curse would lose both their ADC Cop and mid lane star Voyboy. Steve was left scrambling to find replacements that would help them stay competitive in the NA LCS and maybe pull them out of 4th place. It was a scramble that started while he was playing Solo Queue, where he played with an Ezreal who blew him away.

"I was like 'this guy is fucking unreal, what the fuck? I've never seen anyone play this well.' I was asking my chat saying does anyone know who this is? No one had a clue. Two days later it turns out it was Piglet. He was in town for an event."

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After playing with Gwan-jin "Piglet" Chae in Solo Queue, Steve immediately spoke to his coaching staff about signing him. The general consensus was that he was a talented player and former World Champion that may have had some attitude problems. Steve decided to to take a risk and fly out to Korea to meet Piglet's family.

"So I flew out there, had a translator, went to one of the nicest Sushi restaurants in Seoul and we had a six hour dinner. I met his mom and we talked about everything. Philosophy, life, competitive play, drive, him being out of the country for the first time. From that experience we both realized that he would feel really comfortable playing under Team Liquid."

Replacing their mid laner was a little more of a janky experience, according to Steve. Voyboy had announced his plans to quit playing professionally three weeks before the start of the 2015 NA LCS Spring Split. Three weeks to find a mid laner who could compete at an LCS level was going to be no easy feat, but jungler Christian "IWDominate" Rivera had a knack for scouting folks, and pointed Steve in the direction of a Team Dragon Knights mid laner going by the name of Trickster. Though he was previously known as miso in the LCK, you might better know him as Jae-hun "FeniX" Kim.

"I reached out to TDK and met with their organization and negotiated probably the highest buyout that I've ever paid for a player. But I was desperate. So I paid the buyout, didn't even try him out. I met him at a coffee shop with TDK's management. I spoke with him, I had to go purely based off intuition and I said -- I think he's got it. I feel good about it."

Jumping on the horse

With the roster settled in preparation for the 2015 Spring Split there was still one major decision left to make. Their contract with Curse Inc. and title sponsorship had expired, with both parties deciding it was best not to renew the contract moving forward into 2015. Steve was left to figure out what direction to take his League of Legends team. Either create an entirely new brand or merge with an existing esports organization. It was a decision that led him to Team Liquid.

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Liquid was already prevalent in a range of other esports, particularly Starcraft, and was credited for introducing professional Starcraft in Korea to Western audiences. For Steve, it seemed like the most logical choice. "When I looked out into the market place there were a lot of synergies and compliments with all of the assets and history and brand associated with Team Liquid and esports with the League of Legends assets that I had."

The merger occurred in January of 2015, just in time for the Spring Split. It was more than just a title sponsorship. It was a full blown merging of organizations under the Liquid banner.

Stepping out onto the Rift for the first time as Team Liquid, they went 2-0 in their opening weekend, even with Yuri "Keith" Jew subbing in for Piglet who had visa issues. When Piglet finally joined the rest of Liquid on stage, he didn't have the impact the fans would have hoped. He lost his first two games and struggled for the rest of the Split. There were moments of brilliance, but it was mostly marred by lacklustre overall performances and infighting between Piglet and the Liquid coaching staff. They ended the Split in 6th place.

In 6th place they still managed to limp their way into the Spring Playoffs, where they swept Counter Logic Gaming 3-0 and made it to the Semifinals. There, they would face Cloud9. After going up 2-0 and being on the verge of competing in their first North American Finals, they would be reverse swept. Liquid would eventually go on to beat Team Impulse and finish the Split in 3rd, finally breaking the 4th place curse -- if only by a margin.

As the Summer Split rolled around things started to change in the Liquid camp. The team was clicking together in a way it hadn’t before. Fenix was a monster, Diego “Quas” Ruiz was dominating the top lane, IWDominate was a force in the jungle and Piglet was, well, just being Piglet.

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For the first time in the history of the organization they finished the end of a regular season in 1st place. It was a milestone for them. They stepped into playoffs as one of the favorites. When they lost their first two games against TSM, everything looked like it was coming off the rails. They managed to claw one game back, but ultimately would bow out in the Semifinals.

Again, they would beat Team Impulse to place 3rd in the competition. In 2014 this would have been good enough for Worlds, but because of the implementation of Championship Points, they wouldn't auto-qualify. Liquid went into the regional gauntlet for a second shot at Worlds, but unfortunately they would become another victim to the miraculous gauntlet run by Cloud9.

The future is here

During the 2016 offseason the Liquid roster saw a huge roster shake up. Alex “Xpecial” Chu was dropped and the team parted ways with Quas. To find replacements they were going to have to compete with the new arrivals to the LCS.

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“The financial resources of Team Liquid kinda pale in comparison to some of these newer teams that have investment backing. They’re being given $2-3 million to play around with and sign whomever they want and bring in top tier talent. You know, I don’t have those sort of resources, so if I’m going to stay competitive this season in the LCS I’ve gotta use something that I’ve earned over the last 4-5 years.”

"I think I, more so than any other team owner, have been so intimately involved in the Challenger scene. Just over the last four years I've contracted over 75 League players in my career. That's managing Curse, Curse Academy, Team LoLPro, Team Liquid, and Team Liquid Academy."

"So I thought, well, we're gonna go with a 10 man squad. I'm going to pull in talent that is young, that's rookie -- talent that is undiscovered. I'm going to use the physiological and psychological characteristics that I've identified in rookies that I feel is going to be successful in creating them into pro athletes. Where they can have a 4-5 year career under Team Liquid playing in LCS."

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Liquid succeeded in putting together their desired 10 person squad. They played mixed roster scrims, changed the team and players, and analysed the hell out of what was going on. It was through this that they determined what was synergizing correctly and evolved into the lineup they have today. Two experienced Korean stars in Piglet and Fenix, along with three talented rookies: Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, Matt “Matt” Elento, and Samson “Lourlo” Jackson.

Steve’s experience in the Challenger scene so far seems to have paid off, with each of their rookies outperforming many of the more experienced players in the NA LCS. Right now Dardoch is regarded as a top 3 jungler in NA, Matt has put on some MVP worthy performances on Bard and Lourlo has the 4th highest kill participation and 6th highest KDA of all top laners in the NA LCS.

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With such young, hungry, and talented players under its wing, the gamble of the 10 man roster looks to have paid off for Liquid. Even if their results don’t match their high expectations for this Split, they have infinite room to grow.

I can’t predict how well they’ll do this season. All I know is I’m enjoying the hell out of watching them get better and better with every game.

Check out Liquid on lolesports.com this weekend as they take on a resurgent Echo Fox and a seemingly untouchable Immortals, and share your favorite Liquid memories below!

20 Comments

ItsCalledALance2/18/2016, 11:20:43 PM4 votes

Dont mean to correct you good sir, but here is more reliable info on liquid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid

Eleshakai2/19/2016, 1:55:25 AM3 votes

Man... is Liquid funding Riot now or something? Practically every article and broadcast is just constantly talking about them... I half expect Riot to stop casting games from other teams at this rate.

There are, in fact, 9 other teams in the NA LCS.

woodvsmurph2/20/2016, 6:18:08 PM2 votes

First off, I'd like to say thanks to Riot for writing these team history articles. While not a fan of liquid by a long shot, I enjoy learning the history behind the teams -- including their staff that you don't see on stage. As for people's comments about liquid and Piglet -- either justifying or hating -- I think you need to take time to appreciate both sides of the story. From an outsider's perspective, it may seem like liquid has sacrificed a ton of decent to great talent (Quas, Dom, etc.) all for getting a team that works around Piglet. I would agree with this. To some, it seems right that they would get a team that works around their most individually talented player. To others, it is upsetting that a seemingly selfish, cocky, and overly-hyped adc import is favored over talented loyal players who have been with the team longer. I see both sides and can appreciate where they come from and the validity of their point of view. I say this without meaning any ill-will towards foreigners coming to play in NA. There are plenty of great players who have done so. Where I think many seem to have an issue with liquid is the seeming disrespect for teammates who don't play exactly as expected, the unwillingness to adapt to fit an established team's needs, and the refusal to talk out issues face-to-face that Piglet appears to have. Is this true of him? I don't know -- I'm not in the liquid gaming house. But from video's by teammates and/or former teammates both when they played for curse/liquid and other players' comments, this is the feeling I get. I have had a number of good friends from various Asian countries, and feel from these relationships that I can somewhat understand them better than the average American. So yeah between the previously mentioned videos and comments, and interviews of Piglet himself aired by LCS I feel like he kinda puts on an act of humility all while looking down on most of the LCS players as less than him. And in one sense he is correct. He has more mechanical talent than probably 90% of the players around him. But that alone does not make you great. No, players like that should not be held up at all. Players with that mechanical talent, true humility, and the ability to ADAPT to and work with those around them to better their peers and TEAM (not change out anything they don't like) who deserve to be held up as the best. They had a nice article about the LPL last year and a certain mid-laner becoming more team oriented and dominating much of the LPL because of this change in attitude. Bengi from SKT seems to be like this too -- very skilled, yet humble and placing the team first. Immortals was built on this idea. And the best mid-laner of all time (in my opinion) Toyz from TPA season 2 world champions also was a skilled, humble, team-oriented player. I know anyone that read all this is probably gonna tell me I'm stupid and Faker or Bjerg are the best mids ever, but I will gladly stand behind Toyz over either of them. I don't mean for this to stir up arguments. I only hope people on both sides of the fence over Piglet and Liquid can better understand and appreciate where the other side is coming from -- even if they disagree. Well that and maybe people taking a more positive TEAM attitude in solo queue instead of hammering the guy who is playing as SAFE as possible and still losing lane. Take a look at how TPA handled it in world finals. Having faith and not deciding to "ff surrender at 20" at the 10 min mark can be well rewarded.

RottedApples2/20/2016, 12:20:05 AM2 votes

inb4 4th place 4Head

hotarse2/20/2016, 4:03:40 AM2 votes

Let's start with this. You guys at Riot have been drooling over Dardoch since he stepped in. You want to make him the new poster boy for the league or something? Liquid still won't finish higher than fourth by the end of summer and will not go to worlds.

"Stepping out onto the Rift for the first time as Team Liquid, they went 2-0 in their opening weekend, even with Yuri "Keith" Jew subbing in for Piglet who had visa issues. When Piglet finally joined the rest of Liquid on stage, he didn't have the impact the fans would have hoped. He lost his first two games and struggled for the rest of the Split. There were moments of brilliance, but it was mostly marred by lacklustre overall performances and infighting between Piglet and the Liquid coaching staff."

Just for the sake of truth and history, I'm going to mention that it wasn't visa issues that kept Piglet from playing. It was that Keith was simply the better choice as ADC. He had synergy with Xpecial, spoke English, and had a great attitude in game as evidenced by Dom's enthusiasm for having Keith with them on stage. You could tell the team played a lot better with Keith than with Piglet.

But I knew liquid's broner for his korean additions would all but ensure that he would stick to his guns, no matter how dumb it seemed to an outsider. He went all the way to Korea and spent big bucks. I knew keith wouldn't be given a fair shot. Even after proving himself, Liquid says "no." And if you think Piglet is going to carry your team to worlds, you're sadly mistake.

I'm enjoying your 4th placed tears curse fans.

therealdragon2/21/2016, 7:58:04 PM1 votes

Not gonna lie, thought this read "a brief history of stupid" and was like what they responded to another permaban thread?

I'll stick with my cheering for IMT and such. All the teams got so screwed up tho with so many players switching teams tho. Like CLG is no longer CLG, we got like 3 new teams or so, etc.

TL, imo, is just meh. Not the worse, not the best either.

SloreDemon2/22/2016, 7:21:13 AM1 votes

Another article about team liquid, a middle tier team that cannot break into the upper echelons of NA LCS, branding them as a good team, when they clearly aren't. Meanwhile echo fox, with a full roster, are on a continued win streak and will probably beat liquid next week and maybe TSM. Do a story on them because they're likely a stronger team than liquid.

GDYB12/19/2016, 11:55:24 PM1 votes

4th place... Sounds like Arsenal to me.

Quensu2/20/2016, 7:47:06 AM1 votes

Cool another article about a team nobody cares about that has never competed outside of North America. This is the weirdest hype campaign I have ever seen Riot throw together, it makes no sense, especially considering TL aren't playing well this split and are poised to place poorly and miss out on Worlds again. The excitement around Dardoch makes no sense and the Week 6 video comparing him and Reignover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8FYyc0h1F8 ) is sheer disrespect considering he isn't half the player Reignover is. Hopefully a solid 4th place finish this split will eliminate the need for pointless articles such as this one in the future.

Sasquatch IRL2/20/2016, 3:53:48 PM1 votes

Wow so much hate in the comments about this article. I enjoy a well written article about the history of an LCS team like Liquid/Curse. Would enjoy more of these for other teams!

It is very interesting to see what steps people make to form a successful team in a crazy game like league.

Cant believe that guy actually went to Korea for dinner with Piglet's family. That's dedication.

Count Buffon2/21/2016, 7:52:27 PM1 votes

The headline that leads here from the front page of lolesports was pretty confusing. Liquid surges through the LCS - because what, they had two 1-1 weeks back to back where they beat Dignitas and Renegades? Because they took a chunk out of two other mid-tier teams, NRG and Impulse the week before that?

Mid-tier team is mid tier. This isn't a reasonable time to brand this article with that kind of joke of a headline. What next, Renegades fights for a spot in the playoffs?

Morrogondor2/19/2016, 6:49:44 PM

It surprised me Liquid has no resources to recruit top tier talents... I thought Steve is much richer than TSM Andy.