Things looked a little dicey for Team Liquid in Dota 2’s The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifier. They topped their group in the group stages but tumbled down to the lower bracket after losing to Virtus.pro in the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
But, they pulled off a stellar run in the lower bracket, beating Xtreme Gaming and Vici Gaming, and getting revenge against Virtus.pro in the Lower Bracket Final to clinch the last remaining spot at The International 11.
Their captain, Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi, told EscoreNews the team has learned a lot about themselves throughout the process, and the biggest difference is they were able to gel.
“We were five very strong players. But we were a pretty bad team, we didn’t play so well together,” he said. “The biggest difference now is we are playing more as a team, and we are playing more together.”
iNSaNiA said they’re finding better synergy across the board, between cores, between supports, and as a whole, which happened after playing lots of games together.
Their two coaches, William “Blitz” Lee and OG legend Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka, also played a pivotal role.
“Blitz and Matu do a lot of the drafting now, and they have a very good thing going,” he said. It’s the reason why they choose to have him in the room while playing as opposed to JerAx.
As for what JerAx does, he said: “JerAx usually helps us with our gameplay, how we should play drafts, and goes over the replays with us a lot. So, he is handling the Dota 2 gameplay more.”
Team Liquid, along with Team Secret, were the two teams who persevered in the rollercoaster ride that was The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifier. They came into form at the right time.
But there’s no time to rest; The International 2022 kicks off on Oct. 15, and they’re eagerly waiting to see which teams they’ll come up against in the group stage.
