Team Liquid

Overview

Tournament Results

Team Liquid
Team Information
Org Location	Netherlands
Region	NA North America
Sponsor	HyperX Razer NEEDforSEAT Alienware Jinx Quest Nutrition HTC PokerStars Monster Energy Gaming
History
Created 5-14-2015
Social Media & Links

Team Liquid is an American esports organization that fields teams in a wide array of games. They were active in the Halo scene from May 2015 until their withdrawal in December 2017.

History

Team Liquid was founded by Victor "Nazgul" Goossens in 2000 as a StarCraft: Brood War clan. After years as a clan, the organization expanded with the creation of TeamLiquid.net, which became the most visited StarCraft-related website in the world. As time went on, the organization became a cornerstone of the StarCraft community and a very successful team. Until 2015, they were known primarily for StarCraft, but in January 2015, Team Liquid merged with fellow esports organization Curse Gaming, acquiring their League of Legends team.

Halo History

Halo 2: Anniversary

HCS Season 2

On May 14, 2015, Team Liquid announced their entry into the Halo scene, with a roster of captain Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, Mason "Aries" Miller, Ryan "Shooter" Sondhi and Tyler "Spartan" Ganza, with coach Kyle "Elamite" Elam. They had a strong showing in their first tournament under the Liquid banner, finishing 3rd in Cup 2. They followed this up with two top 6 finishes in Cups 3 and 4, and improved on these with repeating 4th place finishes in Cups 5 and 6. In Cup 7, Team Liquid was upset by the underdog team Reality Check in the round of 16. Liquid would get their revenge however, defeating Reality Check in the early rounds at HCS Indianapolis. Unfortunately for Liquid, they would then lose to Denial eSports and Winterfox en route to a top 8 finish. Going into the HCS Season 2 Finals as the #7 seed, Liquid had a formidable first opponent in Denial eSports. They were swiftly 3-0d by Denial and sent to the LB where they faced OpTic Gaming. OpTic won a very close series against Liquid 3-2, ending Liquid's event and season with a top 8 finish.

Halo 5: Guardians

On August 21, Spartan confirmed on Twitter that he was no longer a member of the Liquid roster. On August 27, Liquid announced its new roster, consisting of Ninja, new captain Aaron "Ace" Elam (brother of coach Elamite), Austin "Mikwen" McCleary and Kyle "Chig" Lawson. At Iron Games Daytona 2015, Ace and Elamite of Liquid competed as a part of a team called Liquid Vibe. They finished in the top 8. On November 10, Mikwen left the team in a transfer to Team EnVyUs. On November 16, Team Liquid confirmed the acquisition of Kevin "UnLegit" Smith from eLevate as their new fourth.

Liquid were upset in the quarterfinals of the first Halo World Championship 2016 NA Online Qualifier by a relatively unknown team called OverDrive. Possibly due to this, Chig left the active roster shortly after in favor of an unspecified role in management. For the next two cups, Jacob "Hysteria" Reiser acted as Liquid's unofficial fourth. On January 13, Liquid made a roster change, releasing Ninja and acquiring Bradley "APG" Laws and Richie "Heinz" Heinz. All of the recent team changes were officially confirmed in a roster update on Liquid's site on January 27. Due to their performance in the first cups, Liquid was invited to the X Games Aspen 2016 for a chance to compete for $15,000 and a gold medal. Liquid then qualified for the NA Regional Finals as the 4th seed. At X Games, they were 3-0'd by both Team Allegiance and Renegades, ending their chances of advancing to the bracket, but they did earn a moral victory in a 3-0 sweep of Epsilon eSports.

At the NA Regional Finals, Liquid came out much stronger, sweeping Renegades, Astral Authority and SoaR Gaming en route to 9-0ing their group and qualifying for Halo World Championship 2016. In the quarterfinals, they were upset by the 11th seeded team Denial eSports, taking a top 8 finish. At Worlds, Liquid had a perfect record in their group, upsetting the favored Team Allegiance. In the quarterfinals, they were again defeated in 5 games by Denial eSports, ending their event with a top 8 finish.

On April 10, 2016, Ace confirmed that he was leaving Team Liquid to return to OpTic Gaming. On April 29, Liquid announced its new roster, with APG and UnLegit (now known as Eco) staying on board and being joined by Braedon "StelluR" Boettcher and a returning Spartan.. Their first event together was the HCS Pro League Summer Qualifier 2016, where they finished in the top 8, with APG notably playing through a concussion. On May 13, APG announced that he was temporarily stepping down from the active roster. His replacement until further notice was revealed to be Clete "Assault" LoRusso, who had served as Liquid's coach at the Summer Qualifier. In the Last Chance Qualifier, Liquid finished 1st with Assault, successfully qualifying for the Pro League. APG made a post on the Beyond forums stating that he intends to remain on the roster as a substitute, with Assault acting as the team's official fourth moving forward. After an unimpressive 0-4 start to the Pro League season, Spartan confirmed that Daniel "Danoxide" Terlizzi would be joining the team as an emergency substitute for Assault for the 3rd week of the season. Details regarding the state of the emergency have not been made public. Liquid's fortunes improved little with the acquisition of Danoxide, as they would finish 7th in the League with only two wins, not enough to qualify for Finals or the Fall Season. Hoping to keep their spot in the League, Liquid fought in the Relegation tournament and finished 1st, qualifying for the Fall 2016 Season. Despite their qualification, Spartan decided to leave the team and join up with Hamza "Commonly" Abaalli, Zane "Penguin" Hearon, Timothy "Rayne" Tinkler and coach Kory "Symbolic" Arruda, who held Cloud9's Pro League spot. Team Liquid acquired this roster shortly after its formation. After a 3-3 start to the Pro League season, the new Liquid roster attended its first LAN event - HCS Orange County 2016. They finished 3rd, below OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs. Liquid ultimately finished 3rd in the Fall Pro League season with a 7-7 record. Weeks later, Team Liquid attended HCS Las Vegas 2016 alongside five other Pro League teams. They notably defeated Team Allegiance followed by Team EnVyUs in the Winners Finals, but were unable to seal the deal as EnVyUs earned a Grand Finals rematch, which they won by taking two consecutive series off Liquid. At the Season Finals, Liquid were defeated early by OpTic Gaming. In the Losers' Semifinals, they beat Str8 Rippin in a nailbiting 7-game series. In the following round, they were swept by Team EnVyUs, who went on to defeat OpTic Gaming and win the event.

On December 29, Spartan and Commonly left Team Liquid to form Problem Solvers. Rayne and Penguin recruited Braedon "StelluR" Boettcher and a returning "Eco" to complete the roster, which was first revealed in ESL's post-roster lock press release. The new roster's first event was UGC St. Louis 2017. Liquid came out strong, sweeping the cE.Fs Starboys and taking a close 3-2 victory over Inconceivable before being knocked out of Winners in a narrow 3-2 loss to OpTic Gaming. In Losers, Liquid denied Str8 Rippin a top 3 finish with a 3-1 victory and moved on to face Team EnVyUs in the Losers Finals. After a closely contested series, Team Liquid came out victorious with a 3-2 victory, knocking EnVyUs out below second for the first time since Summer 2016. In the Finals, Liquid faced an uphill climb against OpTic, but battled hard and took the series to seven games before being sent home. At ME Las Vegas 2017, Liquid looked to build on their performance and qualify for Halo World Championship 2017. They came out strong with sweep victories over SetToDestroyX and Pnda Gaming to qualify, followed by a dominant 4-1 victory over Team EnVyUs. In the Winners Finals, Liquid were again defeated by OpTic Gaming, resulting in a Losers Bracket finals rematch with Team EnVyUs. Though NV took the first two games, Liquid battled back to take the next four and solidify themselves as the #2 team in North America. Unfortunately, they had little for OpTic, who defeated them 4-1 to take the event. At Worlds, Liquid were placed in a pool with Luminosity Gaming and London Conspiracy, both of whom they 3-0d to earn a top seed in the bracket. In Winners Round 1, they again defeated Team EnVyUs, this time 4-3. This was followed by a 4-0 sweep over Str8 Rippin and a 4-1 WB Finals loss to OpTic Gaming. In the LB Finals, they were unable to overcome a hot Team EnVyUs, who defeated them 4-2 to end their night with a 3rd place finish.

At the first event on 2017 settings, UMG Daytona, Liquid split their two series with Splyce in Pool Play, resulting in a match with DoZe Esports in Winners Round 1, which they won 3-0. In the next round, they played Splyce for the third time of the weekend and won 3-2. In the Winners Semifinals, they dropped a 5-game series to OpTic Gaming and responded by sweeping Str8 Rippin to set up a fourth match against Splyce for the event. Liquid came out on top of a seven-game affair and moved on to face Team EnVyUs, looking to reclaim their spot in the top 2 after losing it at Worlds. EnVy had other plans however, sweeping Liquid in the best-of-7 and sending them home in 3rd. After a weak start to the Summer Pro League season that saw them sitting in an uncharacteristic 5th place tie, Team Liquid made a roster change, sending Rayne to Str8 Rippin in exchange for a returning AcE. The change helped Liquid move up in the standings, with the team ultimately ending the season in third place. At the DreamHack Atlanta Finals, Liquid started off strongly with sweeps over Wise Gaming and Luminosity Gaming, but they were taken out in the third round by Splyce in five games. After eliminating eRa Eternity, Liquid were defeated by Team EnVyUs in five games, leaving Atlanta with a fourth place finish.

During the offseason, Liquid dropped Ace, replacing him with a returning Spartan.. The new roster finished the Fall Season with a 5-2 record, taking losses to only OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs. At the DreamHack Denver Finals, Liquid started off with back to back 3-0 sweeps over Radiant Esports and Evil Geniuses. In the third round, Liquid were defeated 3-1 by OpTic Gaming. Liquid took out Europe's finest - Team Infused - in four games to secure a top four placing. In the Elimination Semifinals, Liquid dominated Team EnVyUs in a 4-0 sweep to secure top three. In the Elimination Finals, Liquid handled Summer Champions Splyce in similar fashion, moving on to the Grand Finals after another 4-0 sweep. Waiting in the finals was OpTic Gaming, who took Liquid out with a final score of 4-1. On November 13, it was confirmed that StelluR and Eco were leaving Team Liquid to join Splyce. A month later, the departure of Spartan and Penguin to join Team Reciprocity was confirmed, and Liquid announced its withdrawal from Halo.

Timeline

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015

• January 13, StelluR and Eco join.
• January 22, 2nd place at UGC St. Louis 2017.
• January 28, 2nd place in NA Qualifier #1.
• February 4, 5th - 8th place in NA Qualifier #2.
• February 11, 5th - 8th place in NA Qualifier #3.
• February 18, 3rd place in NA Qualifier #4.
• February 25, 4th place in NA Qualifier #5.
• March 5, 2nd place at ME Las Vegas 2017. Team qualifies for Halo World Championship 2017.
• March 26, 3rd place at Halo World Championship 2017.
• May 12, Penguin officially rebrands as SubZero.
• May 14, 3rd place at UMG Daytona 2017.
• June 10, Rayne is traded to Str8 Rippin in exchange for AcE.
• June 22, 3rd place in HCS Pro League - Summer 2017 Season. Team qualifies for Championship Bracket at Season Finals.
• July 23, 4th place at DreamHack Atlanta 2017.
• August 21, AcE is released. Spartan joins.
• September 27, 3rd place in HCS Pro League - Fall 2017 Season. Team qualifies for Championship Bracket at Season Finals.
• October 22, 2nd place at DreamHack Denver 2017.
• November 13, StelluR and Eco leave.
• December 15, Spartan and Penguin are released. Organization withdraws from Halo.

• January 3, 5th - 8th place in NA Qualifier #2 with Hysteria acting as fourth.
• January 10, 3rd - 4th place in NA Qualifier #3 with Hysteria acting as fourth.
• January 13, Ninja is released. APG and Heinz join.
• January 17, 5th - 8th place in NA Qualifier #4
• January 24, 3rd - 4th place in NA Qualifier #5. Team qualifies for NA Regional Finals as #4 seed.
• January 27, Liquid officially confirms movement of Chig to management role, release of Ninja and signing of APG and Heinz.
• January 29, 5th - 8th place at X Games Aspen 2016
• February 20, 5th - 8th place at NA Regional Finals. Team qualifies for Halo World Championship 2016
• March 19, 5th - 8th place at Halo World Championship 2016
• April 10, Ace leaves.
• April 29, Heinz is released. Spartan and StelluR join.
• April 30, 1st place in Online Invitational Qualifier - Group D. Team qualifies for Summer Qualifier.
• Assault joins as temporary coach.
• May 8, 3rd place at Summer Qualifier - Group B with Assault coaching.
• May 13, APG steps down from active roster, Assault joins active roster. Elamite resumes coaching duties.
• May 22, 1st place in Last Chance Qualifier. Team qualifies for Pro League.
• May 22, Assault confirmed as fourth moving forward, with APG acting as sub.
• June 15, Danoxide joins as emergency sub. Assault placed on inactive roster.
• July 15, 7th place in HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 Season.
• July 30, 1st place at HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 Relegation. Team qualifies for HCS Pro League - Fall 2016.
• August 19, Danoxide, StelluR and Eco are released. Commonly, Penguin, Rayne and coach Symbolic join. Team assumes Cloud9's Fall 2016 Pro League spot.
• October 9, 3rd place at HCS Orange County 2016.
• November 10, 3rd place in HCS Pro League - Fall 2016 Season. Team qualifies for Season Finals.
• November 20, 2nd place at HCS Las Vegas 2016.
• December 11, 3rd place in HCS Pro League - Fall 2016 Finals.
• December 29, Commonly and Spartan leave.

• May 14, Team Liquid announces roster of Ninja, Aries, Shooter, Spartan and coach Elamite.
• May 17, 3rd place in HCS Cup #2
• May 24, 5th - 6th place in HCS Cup #3
• May 31, 5th - 6th place in HCS Cup #4
• June 7, 4th place in HCS Cup #5
• June 14, 4th place in HCS Cup #6
• June 21, 9th - 16th place in HCS Cup #7
• June 28, 7th place at HCS Indianapolis 2015
• July 24, 7th - 8th place at HCS Season 2 Finals
• August 27, Ace, Mikwen and Chig join.
• August 31, Spartan and Shooter leave.
• November 10, Mikwen leaves.
• November 16, UnLegit joins.
• December 20, 5th - 8th place in NA Qualifier #1.
• Chig leaves active roster in favor of management position.

Roster

Former

	ID	Name	Next Team
	Penguin	Zane Hearon		⁠⁠Team Reciprocity
	Spartan	Tyler Ganza		⁠⁠Team Reciprocity
	StelluR	Braedon Boettcher		⁠⁠Splyce
	Eco	Kevin Smith		⁠⁠Splyce
	AcE	Aaron Elam		⁠⁠Str8 Rippin
	Rayne	Timothy Tinkler		⁠⁠Str8 Rippin
	Spartan	Tyler Ganza		⁠⁠Problem Solvers
	Commonly	Hamza Abbaali		⁠⁠Problem Solvers
	Danoxide	Daniel Terlizzi		⁠⁠Luminosity Gaming
	Assault	Clete LoRusso		⁠⁠Retired
	APG	Bradley Laws		⁠⁠OpTic Gaming
	Heinz	Richie Heniz		⁠⁠Elevate
	Ace	Aaron Elam		⁠⁠OpTic Gaming
	Chig	Kyle Lawson		⁠⁠Retired
	Ninja	Tyler Blevins		⁠⁠Leftovers
	Mikwen	Austin McCleary		⁠⁠Envy
	Aries	Mason Miller		⁠⁠Dream Team
	Shooter	Ryan Sondhi		⁠⁠Winterfox
	Spartan	Tyler Ganza		⁠⁠Problem Solvers
	Commonly	Hamza Abbaali		⁠⁠Problem Solvers

Temporary Subs

	ID	Name	Replacing	Tournament
	Danoxide	Daniel Terlizzi		Assault	HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 - Week 3

Organization

Current

	ID	Name	Position
	Nazgul	Victor Goossens	{{{4}}}
	LiQuiD112	Steve Arhancet	{{{4}}}
	LiquidCaleb	Caleb Anderson	{{{4}}}

Former

	ID	Name	Position	Next Team
	Symbolic	Kory Arruda		None
	TiberiusAudley	Tyler Hicks		None
	Elamite	Kyle Elam		⁠⁠Caster

Tournament History

End Date	Game	Place	Prize	Event	Players (Coach)
October 22, 2017		A22	$45,000	DreamHack Denver 2017	SubZero • StelluR • Eco • Spartan • Symbolic
September 27, 2017		A33	$6,500	HCS Pro League - Fall 2017 Season	SubZero • StelluR • Eco • Spartan
July 23, 2017		A44	$15,000	DreamHack Atlanta 2017	SubZero • StelluR • Eco • AcE • Symbolic
June 22, 2017		A33	$6,500	HCS Pro League - Summer 2017 Season	SubZero • StelluR • Eco • AcE
May 14, 2017		A33	$8,000	UMG Daytona 2017	SubZero • Rayne • StelluR • Eco • Symbolic
March 26, 2017		A33	$100,000	Halo World Championship 2017	SubZero • Rayne • StelluR • Eco • Symbolic
March 5, 2017		A22	$10,000	ME Las Vegas 2017	SubZero • Rayne • StelluR • Eco • Symbolic
January 22, 2017		A22	$10,000	UGC St. Louis 2017	SubZero • Rayne • StelluR • Eco • Symbolic
December 11, 2016		A33	$25,000	HCS Pro League - Fall 2016 Season Finals	Spartan • Commonly • SubZero • Rayne • Symbolic
November 20, 2016		A22	$6,000	HCS Las Vegas 2016	Spartan • Rayne • SubZero • Commonly • Symbolic
November 10, 2016		A33	$11,000	HCS Pro League - Fall 2016 Season	Spartan • Commonly • SubZero • Rayne
October 9, 2016		A33	$3,500	HCS Orange County 2016	Spartan • Rayne • SubZero • Commonly • Symbolic
July 30, 2016		A11	I1Q	HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 Relegation	Spartan • StelluR • Eco • Danoxide • Swift Kill
July 15, 2016		A77	$7,000	HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 Season	Spartan • StelluR • Eco • Danoxide
May 22, 2016		A11	I1Q	HCS Pro League - Summer 2016 LCQ	APG • Eco • Spartan • StelluR
May 8, 2016		A33	-	HCS Pro League Summer Qualifier 2016 - Group B	APG • Eco • Spartan • StelluR • Assault
March 20, 2016		A55 - 8	$75,000	Halo World Championship 2016	Ace • APG • Heinz • Eco • Elamite
February 21, 2016		A55 - 8	$2,500	HWC NA Regional Finals 2016	Ace • APG • Heinz • Eco • Elamite
January 31, 2016		A55 - 8	-	X Games Aspen 2016	Ace • APG • Heinz • Eco • TiberiusAudley
July 26, 2015		A77 - 8	$3,000	HCS Season 2 Finals	Ninja • Aries • Shooter • Spartan • Elamite
June 28, 2015		A77	$1,500	HCS Indianapolis 2015	Ninja • Aries • Shooter • Spartan • Elamite

Articles

• 2015

• May 14 - Welcoming Halo to the Liquid Family by Team Liquid