Team Liquid & The Defending Champions Struggles | TI14 Team Preview

This is the latest entry in a series of articles previewing the teams playing at The International 2025 (TI14), which kicks off on September 4th.

It’s actually quite difficult to find an esports organization with a legacy as long and storied as that of Team Liquid. Founded all the way back in 2000, they have seen it all, from the days when these outfits were still called “clans” to the modern-day esports boom.

Their Dota 2 team is no different. With two International titles between two different rosters, the way the organization operates and how it produces winners is undeniable. Liquid have also enjoyed plenty of top-level success in other esports titles, so it’s not just about their Dota squad.

But I’m here to talk about TI14, so naturally the focus will be on Dota. This particular roster has been around for some time now, after the Liquid organization picked up the former Alliance squad led by captain Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi in 2019. That’s an entire six years — an eternity by esports standards. It took them until TI13 last year to finally cap off their time together with an Aegis of Champions.

Team Liquid’s Loyalty Program Paying Dividends

I previously talked about Tundra Esports and how the higher-ups in the organization locked their Dota 2 roster in with a long-term contract back in 2021, which was slated at the time to run all the way until 2024. Just a year and a half later, the ownership’s faith in the squad paid off huge as they hoisted the trophy at TI11.

Liquid, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy the same overnight success. Like I said, it took them a while to bag the most coveted prize in the game, as well as more than a few roster changes along the way. The core of Insania, Michael “miCKe” Vu, and Samuel “Boxi” Svahn still remains, but Jonáš “SabeRLight-“ Volek and even Michał “Nisha” Jankowski (who joined three years ago) weren’t part of the same lineup from 2019.

Still, it was great to see the organization’s persistence be rewarded with a title. It takes a lot of trust, confidence, and conviction to keep (mostly) the same core together for so long, even after taking into account that they came close to the grand final at TI11. And while Neta “33” Shapira, the very player that helped get them over the hump last year, went back to Tundra Esports at the start of this season, that does not in any way put any sort of asterisk on their TI13 title run.

The Pale Horse

Liquid stand as the reigning International champions, and will have the honor of defending their title against all comers at TI14. 33 isn’t with them this time, however, and this will be SabeRLight-‘s first time playing for a top-tier squad at The International. He has been to three editions of the world championship, but not once has he had the pressure of title-winning expectations on his shoulders.

There’s also the issue of their inconsistency this year that might come to plague them in Hamburg once the tournament begins. It’s no secret to anyone that’s been watching this competitive season that Liquid’s results have been ranging anywhere from wrecking face (PGL Wallachia Season 3) to “bro what the hell are they even doing” (BLAST Slam 3).

I’ll cut them a bit of slack as they’ve had to play with stand-ins a few times this year. But then again, so did Team Spirit just about a week ago, and they nearly won the entire damn tournament. This leads me to believe that the issue isn’t just there from an individual play standpoint, but rather a problem with the team as a whole.

Not exactly the description you want to have on your heads going into your title defense. We’ve seen what happens to squads that get in their own heads at The International.

Still, they rise

Nevertheless, they have the talent and experience necessary to capture the Aegis of Champions for the second year in a row. Aside from SabeRLight-, this is the same team that won TI13, after all.

It really is just a matter of ironing out the kinks on a game-to-game basis. It’s not about whether or not they have the firepower, but rather the aim to guide that firepower and ensure that they don’t constantly shoot themselves in the foot. It’s happened way too much versus many people’s expectations this year, so for their sake and that of their fans, I’m hoping they’ve figured things out ahead of TI14.

After all, it’s not every day that you get a chance to etch your names in the annals of Dota 2 history. For the longest time, it seemed like it was impossible for anyone to win The International twice, let alone back-to-back like OG did between 2018 and 2019. But now that it’s been proven as doable, this Liquid roster would be wasting a golden opportunity if they don’t strike now.

Player to Watch & Biggest Challenges

I already mentioned miCKe and his importance to this squad, so I’ll be choosing him as the player to watch. He is far and away the best Nature’s Prophet player in the scene right now, which is great for Liquid heading into TI14 as the hero is very strong in the current metagame. Without miCKe, this team is much less of a threat than they normally would be.

Liquid’s lack of consistency this year has been a significant pain point for Liquid this season. If they can manage to play their brand of Dota from start to finish at TI14, we’ll probably see them in the grand finals.

If not, they’re going to struggle to stay afloat. Also, how SabeRLight- might cope with the pressure of the shoes he has to fill will be another factor here.

My Team Liquid Grade for Ti14

The defending champions get a B- from me because of their sine wave tendencies in terms of overall performances. They’d easily score much higher otherwise.