Team Liquid

Team Liquid
Location Netherlands
Founded 2000
Manager(s) Victor "Nazgul" Goossens
Steve Arhancet
Sponsors HyperX
HTC
Razer
Alienware
G2A.com
Namecheap
Quest Nutrition
Nissan
NeedForSeat
LoLClass.com
Divisions Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Dota 2
Halo
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Heroes of the Storm
League of Legends
Overwatch
StarCraft II
Street Fighter
Super Smash Bros.
Website www.teamliquid.net
www.teamliquidpro.com

Team Liquid (TL) is a video game website and multiregional professional eSports organization based in the Netherlands. With the release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Team Liquid began sponsoring professional players. In 2012, Team Liquid recruited a North American Dota 2 team, marking their first venture into multi-genre management.[1] In January 2015, Team Liquid officially merged with Team Curse under the Liquid banner, bringing on Steve Arhancet, his supporting staff, and former Curse League of Legends, Street Fighter, and Super Smash Bros. teams. Team Liquid was founded in 2001 originally as a news site focusing on StarCraft.

History

The website was founded on May 1, 2001 by Victor "Nazgul" Goossens and Joy "Meat" Hoogeveen under the domain teamliquid.cjb.net.[2] On September 22, 2002 the website was moved to the current address of teamliquid.net. A day later the very first poll was posted as a vote for the website's name with the current name winning over other suggestions such as likwit.com.

Although Team Liquid was known as primarily a StarCraft news site, there are many sub sections on the forums dedicated to other games as well. It was announced on August 30, 2012 that Team Liquid would be expanding to also including Dota 2 as one of their main coverage games. On December 8, 2012, Liquid expanded their eSports franchise for the first time, with the announcement of the recruitment of a North American Dota 2 team.[1]

On January 6, 2015 Steven Arhancet joins Victor Goossens as co-owner of Team Liquid, officially commencing the merge between former Team Curse Gaming under the Team Liquid banner.[3]

On January 24, 2015, it was announced that HTC had become an official sponsor of Team Liquid.[4]

Websites

Main Websites

Community Websites

Tournaments and Events

In addition to running a community site and team, Team Liquid also hosts a variety of tournaments and events.

Team Liquid Starleague

Team Liquid StarCraft II Open

Team Liquid Legacy Starleague

Community Events

eSports Team

The gaming clan "Liquid" was founded by Victor "Nazgul" Goossens near the end of 2000 after deciding to leave his previous clan. Liquid started with four members for the first months and grew to eight players over the following year. The members of the Liquid clan are handpicked by Goossens based on both personality and talent.[8] The team has a dedicated news site separate from the more community oriented site at www.teamliquidpro.com, announced and released on May 10, 2011.[9]

With the arrival of StarCraft II, Team Liquid announced plans to become an active Pro-Gaming Team. Shortly after, sponsorship by The Little App Factory was announced,[10] which qualified them as a sponsored professional team. This allowed Team Liquid to pay their players a salary and send the team to events around the world. On August 13, 2012, three players traveled to Korea in order to live in the OGS training house and compete in GOMTV's Global StarCraft II League (GSL).[11][12][13]

Of the three players entering the preliminaries, only one, Dario "TLO" Wünsch qualified for the first two GSL events. He was eliminated out in the Second and First rounds respectively.

The third GSL was the strongest showing of Team Liquid thus far. Three players, Hayder "Haypro" Hussein, Jos "Ret" de Kroon and Jonathan "Jinro" Walsh qualified for the main tournament. While Hussein lost first round and de Kroon in 2nd, Walsh made to the semi-finals, losing 0–4 to the eventual winner Jang "MC" Min-Chul.

In 2012, during GSL Season 2, members Song "HerO" Hyeon Deok and Yun "TaeJa" Young Seo made it to the Round of 8 of the Code S tournament, with TaeJa being eliminated while HerO advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament.

On March 2014, Team Liquid announced that it had picked up two legendary Melee players: Ken, who is known as the "King of Smash" and KoreanDJ, who is widely considered as the first player to defeat Mew2King ever since he was considered a God, thus starting its Smash team. After acquiring Curse Gaming, it also signed Hungrybox, who is considered to be one of the Five Gods of Melee, and Chillin, who was the first player to defeat Ken during his prime. On August 11, 2015, it picked up top Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player Nairo, who was the only player to knock ZeRo out of a tournament, ending ZeRo's 55 win tournament streak at MLG World Finals.[14][15] On September 28, 2015, Team Liquid announced that KoreanDJ resigned from the organization and retired from competitive Smash, citing persistent hand and wrist pains.[16]

On January 6, 2015 Liquid acquired the Team Curse's League of Legends roster, which consisted of Quas, IWillDominate, Voyboy, Cop, and Xpecial. The team finished the LCS Spring regular season in 6th place with a 10-9 record. On Week 5 and 6 of NA LCS Piglet was benched and replaced on the starting roster by KEITHMCBRIEF in an effort to try to improve their standings.[17] In the playoffs they beat Counter Logic Gaming 3–0, before losing to Cloud9 3–2 and finishing in 3rd.

One week after the Curse merger, it was announced that Team Liquid acquired a Counter Strike: Global Offensive team that previously played under the title "Denial eSports".[18]

On January 24, 2015, it was announced that HTC had become an official sponsor of Team Liquid.[19]

On September 28, 2015, Team Liquid and Piglet parted ways after another failed qualification bid for the League of Legends World Championship, just a few hours after KoreanDJ resigned from the team.[20] However, this was apparently a fake leak, as just a few hours later, Team Liquid announced on its Instagram that Piglet has extended his contract until November 2016.[21]

On October 9, 2015, it was announced that Liquid would once again be fielding a DotA team, after more of a years absence from the competitive DotA scene. Signing the team formally known as 5JungZ, the new Liquid Dota would consist of a medley of new and old European talent.[22]

Main management

Victor "Nazgul" Goossens is a founding member and now co-owner and co-CEO of Team Liquid. Nazgul originally competed in Brood War prior to forming Team Liquid.

Steve "LiQuiD112" Arhancet joined the Team Liquid staff when Team Curse merged with Team Liquid. Since the merge, Steve has taken the role of co-owner and co-CEO and primarily manages the League of Legends team.[23]

Current roster

Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Dota 2

Halo

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Heroes of the Storm

League of Legends

League of Legends Challenger Series team

StarCraft II

Super Smash Bros.

Street Fighter

Overwatch

Former members

Notable tournament results

Dota 2

DateTournamentLocationPlacement
2013The International 2013 Dota 2 ChampionshipSeattle, Washington, U.S.7th/8th
2014The International 2014 Dota 2 ChampionshipSeattle, Washington, U.S.9th/10th
2016Shanghai Major 2016 Shanghai, China2nd

League of Legends

DateTournamentLocationPlacement
2010Premier League Season 1United States2nd
2011MLG Raleigh 2011Raleigh, North Carolina, US4th
2011Global IEM Guangzhou Online QualifiersUnited States (online)2nd
2011Cyber-Sports.net 5v5 TournamentUnited States2nd
2011Go4LoL July and August Monthly FinalsUnited States1st
2011NESL IEM NY Online Qualifier 2011United States1st
2011IGN Atlantic CityAtlantic City, New Jersey, US5th
2011Mobafire.com TournamentUnited States1st
2011Premier League Season 2United States2nd
2011Premier League Season 2 ChampionshipUnited States2nd
2011MCB TournamentUnited States2nd
2012IEM KievKiev, Ukraine5th
20125 on 5 Conflict on Crystal Scar Tournament 1 and 2United States1st
2012IEM World Grand Championship FinalsGermany5th
2012IPL 4 Las Vegas AprilLas Vegas, Nevada, US5th
2012CSN (Cyber Sports Network) 4 Point Cup TournamentUnited States3rd
2012Alienware Spring Season TournamentUnited States1st
2012NESL Pro Series Season 3United States1st
2012MLG Anaheim InvitationalUnited States5th
2012Reign of Gaming InvitationalUnited States4th
2012Leaguecraft ggClassicUnited States2nd
2012IPL FaceOff in SF QualifierUnited States2nd
2012MLG Summer ArenaUnited States3rd
2012IPL Faceoff San FranciscoUnited States2nd
2012MLG Raleigh, NCRaleigh, North Carolina, US1st
2012NA Regional Finals at PAX PrimeUnited States4th
2012Solomid Tournament #7United States1st
2012MLG Fall ChampionshipUnited States7th
20122012 World -Esports MastersChina7th
2012Lone Star ClashUnited States2nd
2012Solomid Tournament #9United States2nd
2012IPL 5 Las VegasUnited States6th
2012Solomid Invitational FinalsUnited States1st
2012Solomid Tournament #12United States1st
2013National Elite Pro LeagueUnited States1st
2013MLG Prize Fight SeriesUnited States1st
2013IEM KatowicePoland5th
2013Riot Season 2 North American RegionalsUnited States4th
2013LCS North America Season 3 Spring PlayoffsUnited States4th
2013LCS North America Season 3 Summer PlayoffsUnited States6th
20142014 NA LCS Spring PlayoffsUnited States4th
20142014 NA LCS Summer PlayoffsUnited States4th
20152015 NA LCS Spring PlayoffsUnited States3rd

StarCraft II

DateTournamentCountryPlacementPlayer
2011North American Star League Season 2 2011 SC2 ChampionshipUnited States2ndSong "HerO" Hyeon Deok
2011North American Battle.net InvitationalUnited States2ndShawn "Sheth" Simon
2011European Battle.net InvitationalUnited States1stJos "Ret" de Kroon
2011Sony Ericsson Starcraft II Code-S January 2011South Korea3rd/4thJonathan "Jinro" Walsh
2011Sony Ericsson StarCraft II Open Season 3South Korea3rd/4thJonathan "Jinro" Walsh
2011MLG DallasUnited States1stJonathan "Jinro" Walsh
2011PokerIdol.com SC2 EU ChampionshipUnited Kingdom1stDario "TLO" Wünsch
2011Assembly Winter 2011 SC2 ChampionshipFinland1stJos "Ret" de Kroon
2011DreamHack Summer 2011Sweden1stChris "Huk" Loranger
2011Homestory Cup 3Germany1stChris "Huk" Loranger
2011DreamHack Winter 2011 SC2 ChampionshipSweden1stSong "HerO" Hyeon Deok
2012DreamHack Winter 2012 SC2 ChampionshipSweden1stSong "HerO" Hyeon Deok
2012DreamHack Winter 2012 SC2 ChampionshipSweden2ndYun "TaeJa" Young Seo
2013DreamHack Winter 2013 SC2 ChampionshipSweden1stYun "TaeJa" Young Seo
2015StarCraft II World Championship Series 2015 Season 3Poland2ndGrzegorz "MaNa" Komincz

Super Smash Bros.

DateTournamentCountryPlacementPlayer
2015Apex 2015 Championship Series Melee ChampionshipUnited States5thJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015CEO - Community Effort Orlando 2015 MeleeUnited States5thJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015EVO 2015 World Championships Melee ChampionshipUnited States2ndJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015DreamHack Winter 2015 MeleeSweden1stJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015The Big House 5 MeleeUnited States2ndJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015The Big House 5 Super Smash Bros. for Wii UUnited States2ndNairoby "Nairo" Quezada
2015MLG World Finals 2015 MeleeUnited States1stJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2015MLG World Finals 2015 Super Smash Bros. for Wii UUnited States1stNairoby "Nairo" Quezada
2016Genesis 3 MeleeUnited States3rdJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma
2016Genesis 3 Super Smash Bros. for Wii UUnited States5thNairoby "Nairo" Quezada
2016Battle of the Five Gods Melee InvitationalUnited States1stJuan "Hungrybox" Debiedma

Street Fighter

DateTournamentCountryPlacementPlayer
2015Apex 2015 Championship Series USF4 ChampionshipUnited States1stDu "NuckleDu" Dang
2015Combo Breaker 2015United States1stDu "NuckleDu" Dang
2015EVO 2015 World Championships USF4 ChampionshipUnited States7thDu "NuckleDu" Dang

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

DateTournamentLocationPlacement
2015Intel Extreme Masters Season X – San JoseUnited States3rd/4th
2016MLG Columbus 2016United States3rd/4th

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Horton, Samuel (2012-12-08). "Team Liquid ventures into Dota". SK Gaming.
  2. "About TL.net". Teamliquid.net. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  3. Farrelly, Steve (January 7, 2015). "Curse Gaming Folds into Team Liquid to Become One Super eSports Organisation". AusGamers. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  4. "HTC Sponsors Team Liquid". teamliquidpro.com. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  5. TeamLiquid HQ Announcement
  6. Pokerstrategy.com TSL 3 Announcement
  7. Team Liquid Legacy Starleague
  8. "IPL 3 Groups, Stream Info, LoL and much more!". IGN. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  9. Team Liquid - Professional StarCraft 2 Team - TeamLiquidPro: Home Sweet Home
  10. "Presenting TLAF-Liquid`!". Teamliquid.net. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  11. "Homecoming: Liquid` to Korea!". Teamliquid.net. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  12. Gaudioso, John (23 September 2011). "Pro Gamer Shawn "Sheth" Simon Talks MLG, StarCraft II and the Future of eSports". Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  13. "oGsLiquid House Tour". Giantbomb. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  14. http://www.teamliquidpro.com/news/2015/08/12/a-new-challenger-approaching-liquidnairo
  15. http://www.redbull.com/us/en/esports/stories/1331756499798/zero-on-mlg-nairo-and-the-next-chapter
  16. http://www.teamliquidpro.com/news/2015/09/28/all-good-things-must-come-to-an-end
  17. Bumblebee (February 16, 2015). "LCS News: KEITH moved to starting roster for week 5 Author".
  18. "Introducing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive". teamliquidpro.com. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  19. "HTC Sponsors Team Liquid". teamliquidpro.com. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  20. http://www.dailydot.com/esports/piglet-leaves-team-liquid/
  21. "TeamLiquidLoL on Instagram: “@Liquid_Piglet extended his contract with Team Liquid on September 21 2015 to November 20 2016 #ImBaaaaack #LCS #LeagueofLegends”". Instagram. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  22. "Liquid Reincarnation". teamliquidpro.com. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  23. "INTERVIEW: Team Liquid co-owner Steve Arhancet discusses the rise of eSports - and what's next for the sector". Mcvuk. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  24. Nymann, Robin. "s1mple leaves Liquid's active roster". Twitter. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  25. "Challenger Approaching: Nairo sponsored by Team Liquid". teamliquidpro.com. Team Liquid. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  26. "All good things must come to an end: KDJ leaves Team Liquid". teamliquidpro.com. Team Liquid. Retrieved September 28, 2015.

External links

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