LOOKING AT TEAM LIQUID's Dota 2 roster, there were many important question marks that would plague the team.
Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi is considered to be one of the underrated minds in Dota 2 especially upon listening to his strategic depth during his brief stints as a shoutcaster, however he will be remembered for the infamous Gyrocopter blunder he committed back in The International 2019.
Then there's Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, who is viewed to be one of the most talented players in Dota 2, however there were doubts if he could finally secure the biggest trophy in Dota 2.
In addition their coach, William "Blitz" Lee, never had a successful career both as a player and coach, and he even stuck with the same roster that had failed in numerous attempts of securing their first Major.
That is until their fortunes changed when Team Liquid won The International 2024, sweeping one of the hottest Dota 2 teams, Gaimin Gladiators, 3-0.
The series was simply a masterclass from The Cavalry, especially from their support players Samuel "Boxi" Svahn and Insania.
The cavalry has arrived
In Game 1, Boxi's Tusk made crucial snowballs and shard walls to salvage his team while Insania played the Shadow Demon to perfection, creating space for the likes of Nisha, Michael "miCKe" Vu, and Neta "33" Shapira.
With these two synergizing well, Liquid was also able to slow down the hyper aggressive playstyle from Quinn "Quinn" Callahan's Riki. These two players likewise used the same heroes in Game 2, who were also crucial for Liquid's victory.
In both games, Gaimin tried everything to counter the support duo. Riki plus Aghanim's Shard was supposed to be the game changer in the 1st game, while Quinn selected Puck in Game 2, however both attempts were futile. Will Gaimin ban these two heroes in the do-or-die decider?
In addition, Liquid also did a great job in banning the one hero who could ultimately shut down this duo namely Quinn's Void Spirit.
So coming into Game 3, Gaimin didn't hesitate to ban Boxi's Tusk, forcing Liquid to make changes in their gameplan. Liquid had the early lead, but Quinn's Pangolier was able to cause a lot of problems at the latter stages of the game. It seemed a comeback was on the works especially with Quinn and Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov's Windranger doing miracles.
But Liquid stood their ground, as 33 and miCKe were able to gain momentum at the final moments of the game, leading to Liquid's championship.
This marks the second time that Liquid won The International, with the first one happening way back in TI7 (2017), when Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi and Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi were still a part of the team.
Meanwhile Team Liquid's current offlaner, 33, is now a two-time TI champ. He last garnered his 1st trophy back in The International 2022 when he was a part of Tundra Esports. He becomes the first player to win two TI trophies from different squads.
Blitz reflects on Liquid's heartbreaking losses
During the post-match interview, Coach Blitz became emotional and he even went as far as recalling all the lows the team endured before they finally overcame their demons.
"They took a chance on a guy who has never coached a winning team before. We had so many losses, we had five years without winning anything. We could've disbanded 20 different times like people told us to. We didn't make TI and Liquid still kept us on."
And he couldn't have done this without the people who worked really hard from behind the scenes.
"I didn't do anything here, I'm just so glad that people like Zai, Nisha, MATU[MBAMAN], they took a chance on us and they're willing to play with us and I'm so glad that I didn't ruin Nisha's career," reflected the former Dota 2 caster.
"It truly takes a village, I'm not good enough by myself. I learned that I guess that you have to do it with other people and you have to succeed with everybody around you, and I'm good enough to admit that I'm sh*t but I got great people around me."
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