JT: "We need to not get complacent"
Even though Liquid may have exited BLAST Bounty Season 2 following a 2-0 loss to Spirit, they still defied everyone’s expectations with wins over Vitality and G2 in the online stage.
An incredibly strong debut event for them having just picked up a new IGL in JT, and a new AWPer in Jorko, we sat down with their new captain to discuss his start on Liquid, improving while waiting for his big move, and the form of their young sniper.
“The goal for Liquid is to always be at the top”
You made it to the playoffs in your first event. How are you feeling?
I'm definitely feeling good. It's our first event with the full roster, and I think that we've played really well so far.
People will say "it's only online games," but the G2 game was dominant. What are your takeaways from these two games?
I think that our gameplan just worked from the start of both games; that's really nice for us, and probably why they were so one-sided for us. Something to think about now will be the challenge that comes when things don't go as planned.
Do you feel like there's also a strong natural chemistry within this team?
Yeah, I think there's a very easy chemistry. I played with EliGE before, but even with the rest of the team, we know how we all want to play, and we have a good mix of roles and personalities. Also, I'm noticing that Jorko is fitting into the system in the way we need him to, so things are just working out the way they should.
How is Jorko fitting into the team overall? He's quite a bit younger than the rest of the team.
He's very young and fresh; he brings an excited energy to every day because he really wants to learn and improve as much as he can. It's been good to play with him so far; he's happy to take criticism, and he's also just playing well so far.
For someone his age making the step up, do you think it's important to have those older figures like yourself, EliGE, and NAF?
Yeah, I think it's definitely important. Having veterans on the team that he can trust and learn from will be big for him, especially with people like EliGE and NAF who have been in the scene for so long. It'll be easy for him to take their criticism and use it, because there's a reason they've been around for so long.
In the past you've spoken about your own inexperience in the biggest games; is that where you also look for their help yourself?
Definitely, it's like a home ground for them to be on the big stage, and that's where they both perform their best. But even malbs, he's played on a lot of stages and won trophies, so he also knows what it means to be up there. Having them on the team, if we do end up doing well, that'll be their time to shine.
A lot of people have been calling for you to get this move for a while. Did it feel like you were waiting for this opportunity and your own time to shine?
I feel I've been ready for a few years now, but I've just been trying to improve every year and fix the things in my game I needed to. It usually takes IGLs longer to find a big team, and even now I'm not joining Grand Slam Liquid, but it's a big org with big players, so if I can bring them back to form, it'll be really nice.
Could you elaborate on some of those things you wanted to fix?
For me, building myself up as a leader was really important. I think I always had a creative and good mind for strategies, but a good IGL is also a leader of the team, and I think that's something I've been trying to improve on for the last few years.
As you said, Liquid aren't a top ten team at the moment, so what are the goals for this team?
The goal for Liquid is always to be at the top, so the goal right now is to get them back there. I think we can do that with the roster we have, but we need to not get complacent based on early results.
Do you think there is any risk of complacency?
There's always a risk, but I think for our team, it's a good thing we did so well so early. We've been working really hard every single day, so having something positive pay back early in the season is going to be good for us. It'll motivate us.
We really want to get the guys back to the top ten, top five, and I think for Jorko this is also a really good opportunity to show what he's got, so he's just going to be as motivated as possible.
What will be the most important factor in keeping it up?
The most important thing will just be to have a structure where everyone knows what they need to do and what their role is. We have a really skilled team with good mechanics; everyone can agree with that, so if I can build a system where everyone feels comfortable and knows what's expected of them, it'll be easy for them to perform.
