Group Liquid talk about days of Dota previous and their very own journeys to the primary stage on the TI Finals Week press meet.
Group Liquid, are one of many 4 remaining groups in Singapore. All 5 of Liquid’s lineup — Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, Michael “m1CKe” Vu, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg, Samuel “Boxi” Svahn, and Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi — have been current. Liquid’s coaches William “Blitz” Lee and Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka have been absent, however the group was in full movement with their solutions.
With TI 11 virtually at its finish, we requested Liquid to look again; each at Internationals previous, and their very own careers, to study just a little bit extra about their journey into skilled Dota.
The journey to Professional
Do every of you’ve got a selected second up to now the place you determined you’d go professional with this Dota factor, or did it simply occur with out you realizing? If there was such a second, what was it?
iNSaNiA: I do know for myself not less than, it was an lively determination to change from HoN to Dota, and it wasn’t like I used to be gonna play Dota for enjoyable. So yeah, there was a really particular second after I determined to change. It was like both change or go examine or do one thing else, and I made a decision I needed to play Dota. So it was at all times… with a aim in thoughts to make it.
m1CKe: Yeah, just about the identical.
zai: I assume for me, by the point I went to my first Dota LAN, I used to be 16, I used to be nonetheless in class, however we performed some… it was at South by Southwest… It was some monster event with like 4 groups. *inaudible*… in all probability Group Liquid on the time. We performed BuLba (Kanishka Sosale) and a few dudes, and like two different groups. We simply went via this four-man event and we received, and I believe after that it was identical to I used to be on EG.
What are your favourite heroes to play 1. in your function 2. outdoors your roles?
m1CKe: Rubick, in all probability. Most enjoyable Hero in Dota. In my function? Now in all probability Pango.
iNSaNiA: I agree. Exterior my function, Rubick, in my function, Rubick.
Dota gamers generally have extra inventive nicknames than CSGO gamers, numerous whom use their very own names or initials. You guys have fairly fascinating handles. What’s the story behind every of your nicknames?
m1CKe: It’s “miCKe” with a 1 in it. That’s it. My nickname.
Boxi: I simply copied my brother’s good friend’s nickname after I was 8.
iNSaNiA: I selected mine at my cousin’s. I used to be making Guild Wars characters and my cousin had Latin nicknames for all of his… and I needed to be cool like him. I additionally needed Latin phrases so I simply seemed up a bunch of Latin phrases and this was the one that individuals obtained to know me by so I caught by it.
zai: Mine was kinda simply random… no which means, actually. Simply… cool letters.
MATUMBAMAN: I answered this query like 30 occasions! I can say my first nickname really was from Latin, too. In Warcraft III I performed underneath the identify “lacrima,” which suggests “tear” I consider. It’s nonetheless my Warcraft III nickname.
Trying again at previous legends
For those who guys may go up in opposition to any TI lineup from the previous, what group would you need to play and why?
zai: I might play in opposition to TI4 Newbee, as a result of I believe… I don’t know, they type of simply received the event and disappeared, by no means got here again once more, and I believe we had a very good shot at profitable that 12 months. I’ve been salty ever since. Particularly Banana (Wang Jiao)… I’d prefer to play in opposition to him once more.
Whether or not or not Newbee may make a return to face Zai and grant that want should wait till subsequent DPC season. Within the meantime, there are three present line ups for the group to take care of.
Subsequent up, Liquid will face Group Aster throughout Finals Weekend, starting October 29.
