Back at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023, Liquid's decision to transition to a European core initially looked like a masterstroke.
In Patsi and Rainwaker, their new additions were not just unexpected, but they also signalled the end of an era for the organisation in Counter-Strike.
An organisation that previously had only ever been home to a North American team, their departure from their roots seemed negative until debut victories over FaZe and G2 alleviated concerns.
That alleviation of worry was unfortunately short-lived, however, as two subsequent defeats to FaZe and Astralis then saw Liquid eliminated from Fall Groups and knocked down into the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown.
In the months that have followed, Liquid failed to reach the heights of those first two games again, and as they await their Showdown semi-final match against Party Astronauts, they do so with coach daps playing on the server in the place of the now-benched Rainwaker.
During the Showdown, we got the chance to talk to NAF about their struggles and what they will need to do to qualify for Fall Final.
Going back to Fall Groups, you started well but tapered off after the first few games, what do you think the issues were?
I’m not entirely sure why we ended so flat, especially after the first two games, maybe we put too much pressure and high expectations of ourselves finishing on top after such a dominant start. I believe the lack of experience of playing together as a team just wasn’t enough in the end.
With daps now back in the server, it frees up star player YEKINDAR to become a star once more. His stats had dipped heavily since taking up the mantle of in-game leader from nitr0 at the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
As for daps, his job is simply to become proficient in the server again, a challenging task considering that his last match was for Orgless in April of 2022.
A change that isn't finalised as Liquid are "currently evaluating their options, roles, and configuration within the team", YEKINDAR will still remain in the IGL role for the Showdown, though he stressed that daps will be IGLing in Counter-Strike 2.
Liquid may have already won their opening game against Forsaken, but at 2-1, it was far from easy for North America's most successful organisation.
One game down and with two more to go to secure their spot at Fall Final, NAF knows how important it is to get daps up to speed on the server.
What’s going to be the most important thing for you to win the Showdown and qualify for Fall Final?
Adapting quickly with bringing in Daps as a player I would say. We really need to make sure that we play our best if we want to qualify. Teams in the Showdown really want to get the last spot, so we know this will be a tough one to grab.
To even play in the final of the Showdown, another North American team stands in their way, and that means there's one more team that will looking to get one over on the team that abandoned their region when they were needed most.
With Party Astronauts win over Imperial, they already proved their strength as a roster, but Liquid are strong too, and they'll be determined to win their last two games for their chance to play in one of Counter-Strike's most beautiful arenas.
What would it mean to play at Fall Final?
It definitely would mean a lot to play in the Royal Arena, as I believe it's a very beautiful experience to play on that stage and in front of the Danish crowd. I’m lucky enough to have played in it a few times before but every time is always something special.
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