What makes our community special? Passion. Some Team Liquid fans are really into League of Legends and can tell you every time CoreJJ swapped roles. Others have seen Hungrybox pop off after a match at least 100 times. However, what truly unites our fans are our shared spaces. They connect, hang out, and celebrate together on Discord, the TL subreddit, and in our Liquid Rewards section.

One of those fans is CMDR_Taco, who started watching Team Liquid compete in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive days. Since then, he has been completing MyBlue (formerly Liquid+) quests, checking out new games, and sharing Team Liquid content with the community. Oh, and lifting. A lot of lifting. 

Crack the Liquid Vault now — Grab your digital collectible

How did you get into Team Liquid?

Originally, I learned about them through CS:GO and their first Overwatch team. I was watching them for a bit. I fell off for a bit. But during the whole quarantine and pandemic, I was looking for something to watch on Twitch. I stumbled upon the Liquid+ launch on Just Chatting and started watching that. 

What got you interested in Liquid+?

They were giving away laptops! 

Okay, fair! Are you still a part of Liquid+ now?

I still do all the daily quests in my free time. I have streams just going on in the background. 

I think it’s a great way to have engagement with different esports that people normally wouldn’t be looking at. A League person wouldn’t be into FPS as much. But Liquid+ bridges that gap between those two communities. 

Have you started watching any esports titles you weren’t previously into?

I was mainly into FPS and didn’t watch League until Liquid+ came around. I still have no idea what’s going on. To me, it’s just a wave of sprites. But I can tell by how people are reacting by how it’s going. I get hyped by other people’s reactions. 

Have you won anything with Liquid Rewards?

I was the first to get the letterman jacket. I also got a gaming chair. Those are the two big ones. I’ve also gotten random keyboards and mice from Alienware. I won a signed League jersey at TwitchCon last year, the Star Wars jersey collection. 

What do you like about being a part of the Team Liquid community?

It’s great to chat with other people on Discord and participate in the Watch Parties. It’s a community like no other in the esports realm. 

What’s the importance of having that kind of community for esports fans? 

I think it’s very important because being on the internet, it’s sometimes isolating. You’re by yourself with the monitor. Having a community with all these people is a great thing to have. 

Do any memories of being in the Team Liquid community stand out to you?

I remember one year for MSI, I got invited to be one of the voice channels with Steve, and watch one of the games with him in that channel. And he was answering questions. That was a really neat experience. 

What Team Liquid teams are you watching right now?

Casually, the Valorant and CS2 teams. 

Have you been to any events?

I haven't been to an event where Liquid plays. The last time I attended an esports thing was Worlds in Los Angeles.

It’s cool to have those Watch Parties on Discord when you aren’t able to go to in-person events. 

There are not many esports events around me. So it’s nice to have that little community to turn to and have that common bond that some of my other friends don’t have with me. 

What about the Team Liquid community do you like? 

I noticed how communicative the staff is with their fans. I really like that. It feels like you have a personal relationship with the org instead of hearing things through press releases. 

I was told you share a lot of Team Liquid’s content on our Reddit sub. What made you decide to do that?

I post a lot of the content on the Team Liquid Reddit page — news articles to YouTube videos. I felt like the TL Redit page was getting stagnant, and people weren’t talking outside of League of Legends. People need to see all this content that might have been overlooked. 

Did you notice any difference at all?

It helped a bit, especially sharing the news articles. They’re sort of hidden inside the Liquid website. Not everyone drops down and sees them. A lot of people who don’t see them can now see them. 

Why do you think it’s important to share the articles? 

I feel like there are a lot of articles that aren’t really mainstream, that normal esports people would see. Like the Community Spotlights — most people wouldn’t see them if it weren’t for Team Liquid. There aren’t a lot of other orgs that do these types of things. 

Read more — Fan Spotlight June: Balloon artist FuDDx

Yeah, totally. I feel like it’s more about the community and players than about the mainstream news that everyone’s doing. 

Instead of Buzzfeed clickbait articles, it’s humanity-focused type things.

How long have you been into esports itself? 

I’ve been off and on. I used to watch 1.6 back in the day. I started getting busy with school and fell off a bit. I started watching again during the CS:GO era. 

What about Counter-Strike makes you a fan? 

It’s mechanical skills — it hasn’t changed much in, what, 25 years? I’m easily able to get back into it. It’s one of the simpler esports to figure out. Diffuse a bomb, blow up a bomb, or kill everyone else on the other team. 

Definitely! I think that was one of the issues with the Overwatch League. It was very hard to follow matches and know what’s going on compared to Counter-Strike, even if you play. 

I have a lot of time on Overwatch. It’s one of my most played games — 1000 hours. Even then, I have a hard time following what’s going on right now. 

So now you play it instead, mainly. Who are you maining?

Right now, I’ve been queuing all roles. There’s faster queue times. I just get defaulted as a tank usually. But my main is support, Ana or Juno. They have all the tools  — heal, do damage, escape options. You just have more to work with than other roles. 

Why do you think you enjoy watching esports?

I get traditional sports, you have these physical athletes that have pique performance — it’s often not achievable to a normal person. With esports, video games seem like something achievable to people that aren’t part of the scene. 

But these esports athletes are doing above what normal people are doing and it’s not apparent unless you’re playing the games. The nuances, the little things they do. The plays that a normal person would never know to do. Esports pro, it’s the 1% that makes them better than everyone else. 

Do you try to utilize that in your gameplay after watching?

All the time, but I fail. I try to do a lineup, and I throw a nade, and it hits a wall and comes right back at me. 

Outside of esports, what have you been into recently? 

Lifting. I’ve been trying to get my lifts up lately. I do photography on the side sometimes. I take random shots when I travel and I shot my friend's wedding. 

What is your favorite lift?

Probably deadlift. Right now I have a 425 (pound) deadlift, 375 squat, and 275 bench. 

What do you want people to know about Team Liquid’s community?

Don’t be afraid to get involved. A lot of us are very welcoming to new people. Feel free to chat inside the Discord and comment on Reddit threads. We’re very friendly folks over here. 

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