Why Liquid's CSGO squad is a potential Major-winning lineup
CSGO is one of the hardest esports in the world. With the right mix of talent, you can have a team that has a lot of potential just like Team Liquid.
Why Liquid's CSGO squad is a potential Major-winning lineup
CSGO is one of the hardest esports in the world. But with the right mix of talent, you can have a team that has a lot of potential just like Team Liquid. The addition of two-time Major winner Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo makes them a team to watch for the rest of 2021.
When it comes to top CSGO teams of the past, there are always some defining factors that made them the strongest at that point in time. In the early days, Ninjas in Pyjamas were on another level compared to the rest of the pro scene with their strategies and their overall skill.
They had two of the best players in the world in Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund and Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg who dominated the scene with their unique ability to catch the opponents off guard and pull off big clutch plays.
This was the same thing with the Astralis squad as they have Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz as their star player but they also have the shot-calling of in-game leader Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander. They are a complete team evidenced by their four Major victories that involved three straight wins.
Why this Liquid squad has bright potential
FalleN is the biggest addition to the team as he was arguably the most prolific player in 2016. Apart from his former teammate Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, FalleN was the best player of the SK Gaming team of the past and he was the main tactician. He is recognized as one of the best AWPers in the history of CSGO which means a great deal for Liquid as they can have multiple snipers in the game.
Jacky ‘Stewie2K’ Yip is the IGL of the Liquid squad and he is mostly known for his heroic performance in the 2018 Boston Major. He was with Cloud9 at the time and he was amazing as he pulled off a stellar run against FaZe Clan in the grand final.
Stewie can be considered as the most vital part of this team as he is the barometer. If he performs well, the rest of the team will play better. However, if he does not play up to standard, the rest of the team will suffer because he sets the tone for the match with his aggression. However, there is one player who can be considered as the superstar of the team.
That man is Liquid mainstay Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski who is regularly regarded as the best player in North America. He has been with the team for six years now and he has continued to improve every year for TL.
Will EliGE need to carry this team like he did before?
Back in 2018, Liquid was not the best team in the region. They had a good lineup but most of the squad was underperforming to the point that EliGE had to carry the team on his back. It was good for his résumé but the rest of the team was letting him down. The following year was much better as TL made some changes to the lineup which helped them win the Intel Grand Slam of 2019 and a favourite for betting on free CSGO skins.
In this team, he can still be the superstar but he will not have to carry the load like before. FalleN and Stewie are great players but they have two other players who are also reliable. Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic has always been reliable as a hybrid rifler-AWPer which Liquid will use with FalleN now in the lineup.
The unknown commodity of the team is Michael ‘Grim’ Wince who joined the team back in August 2020 when Nicholas ‘nitr0’ Cannella retired from pro CSGO. He is the entry fragger of the team which means that he is an aggressive player. He can take control of the game when he has the momentum which is perfect for the role.
EliGE does not need to take over which is a good thing because that might be too much to ask from him. He is an excellent player but the pressure will prove to be taxing if winning the game is solely on his shoulders. Thankfully, the rest of the team is supportive so Liquid will be competitive not only in NA but internationally as well.
Can Liquid win a Major?
Liquid has the capacity to win a major. They are one of the most successful esports teams across the industry with victories in many games including The International in Dota 2 which they won in 2017. With the reputation of the players in the lineup, you can expect that they are going to be the best team in the world which you can rely on to win you free CSGO skins.
However, they have to face off with other teams that have similar chances of winning the major. Let us take a look at some of the teams that you can expect to be Major favourites.
Astralis
The Danish squad remains as the favourite team to win a Major. They still have the core of gla1ve and dev1ce but they also have the talents of Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth and Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen who were part of those four Major wins. This will be the team to beat in Majors as they still have the best qualities from a CSGO team.
Vitality
The French giants are a tough team to face because they have a complete lineup and a superstar to headline. Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut is arguably the best player in the world and he is still in his prime. This team also has experience with some players winning Majors in the past.
Natus Vincere
The main reason for Natus Vincere winning a Major is pretty s1mple. Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev is long overdue a Major win and he will stop at nothing until he achieves it. Of course, this is not a one-man team as he has a good supporting cast. This will be a team that will be hard to face.
Liquid can win
If everything falls into place with Stewie’s leadership, you can expect Liquid to make a run for the Major title and bring another trophy back to NA. They want to prove that NA’s win in the past was not a fluke.
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Words: Pocholo Magsino
