After Team Liquid’s first two matches in VCT EMEA Kickoff, the general consensus was the games were sloppy, the play inconsistent, and the results overall unimpressive. But after getting knocked to the lower bracket in the second round, something strange happened to everyone’s favorite water-themed team: they got better.

So much better, in fact, that against all odds, Team Liquid made it to the lower bracket final to face off against Team Heretics, last year’s Champions finalists. There, they soundly defeated their opponents 3-0 and qualified to the first Masters event of the year. Unfortunately, they were unable to close the whole thing out in the finals, losing 2-3 to Vitality, but it was still an impressive achievement for a team that many thought might be doomed to roll around in the mud forever. We spoke to team IGL nAts and head coach LohaN about how exactly Team Liquid managed to improve so rapidly, and how they’re now preparing for Masters Bangkok.

So, Masters Bangkok — how are we feeling about that?

LohaN: I feel great. I feel excited to finally be in an international event, for Liquid. You should go deeper on this, [nAts].

nAts: In 2021, I went to international events. In 2022, I didn’t go anywhere. In 2023, I went to three internationals. In 2024, I didn’t go anywhere. And in 2025, we’re going again to Bangkok. So I hope we’re going not just to Bangkok, but all of the other international events also. But it’s always good to qualify on the tournament stage, not just by points. Qualifying after wins, after going deep into the tournament, that’s a good feeling.

Judging by the pattern you’ve just laid out, it means next year you’re not going anywhere, so get ready for that.

nAts: I hope it works like that. If my whole life has a pattern and I understand it for myself, in that case, I’ll take a break next year.

It’s your third year on the team, but you’re now stepping more into this leadership, IGL role. What’s that been like for you?

nAts: The challenge is good, to be honest. I’m happy that I have a kind of coach like [LohaN] who teaches me a lot. I think it also depends on what kind of coach I get, because that’s the first thing for me. That was my main request when going to the IGL role — I need a coach who can show me the direction when it’s needed. So far, it’s good. So far I like it. I like the challenge. I like the way we work.

LohaN, you’re coming into a VCT team for the first time. You’ve worked with kamyk before, but are basically building a new team. What was your mindset coming into this season?

LohaN: Obviously, creating a roster from the start has its challenges. My main goal with the team, especially during the off-season and during the early stages of Kickoff, was just focusing on playing well as a team, not so much going too deep in having an insane playbook that we can rely on. It was mostly, “okay, we need to develop good communication protocols, we need to develop good synergy” — just having that solid foundation so we can, throughout the year, build on that. I think it’s been quite a good experience for me. As my first experience in Tier 1, it has its challenges as well, but I’ve learned a lot in the last three months.

What were you mainly focusing on when it came to building team synergy?

LohaN: Getting the correct players was very important for me. Just getting the right balance of players that I wanted, not just in terms of firepower but in terms of being vocal players, players that can balance the energy we need in the team, and just having a bit of everything. I think we did a good job with that.

Going specifically into the points that we worked on a lot, it was about the mental preparation and basically making sure when we get on that stage we’re calm and collected, and playing as we do in practices.

After the first two matches of Kickoff, I think it’s fair to say people were a little dismissive of Liquid. When you dropped to the lower bracket, what was the team’s mentality like? How did you rally back to make that run?

LohaN: It was a hard defeat against FUT. The next day after that game was probably the most important day as a team. We had to change a lot, because the first few games we played, even the ones we won, it never felt that we were actually in control. The FUT was the breaking point, where we were so emotional that we completely lost control of the game. 

The next day was a harsh day for everyone. It was a good day, but a harsh day. We had to have a bit of a wakeup call. We had to change the way we get onto the stage. We played 24 maps in Kickoff — we were the team that played the most, in all regions. So I think we have a lot of experience, and game by game I saw us getting more and more comfortable, not so emotional. At the end of the day I think what we struggled the most with was dealing with our emotions, how we can put them aside and play like how we usually play in practices.

In Team Liquid, we have this thing called “upper bracket is for bitches.” Do you think that being in the lower bracket took some pressure off you and allowed you to put aside those emotions?

LohaN: We were already underdogs. There’s the image that outsiders have that Team Liquid is a middle-of-the-table team. That’s the expectation they had just looking at the roster without even seeing us play, and I think those first three games, we… met those expectations. Probably another middle-of-the-table team. But we were just focused on ourselves. I don’t care what people from the outside say, if they believe in us or not. To the people that believe, thank you for believing. And for the people that don’t, we’ll make them believe.

nAts: I wasn’t thinking about that, to be honest. I’m not a big fan of being a middle team. I’m a big fan of being a top three team. So that pressure goes into motivation.

I heard you’ve been scrimming a lot with the academy team. How does having that structure help you and the way you practice?

LohaN: We do practice with the academy team, but there are a lot of comments going around, people think we practice with them every day, four blocks a day or something… we practice with them maybe once or twice a week. It’s really helpful, obviously, to develop our game plans and even help us with some anti, that’s the most helpful thing. And to run scenarios that a lot of the time are hard to practice against random teams. So it’s very helpful. But we don’t practice with them every single day, like a lot of people are thinking for some reason.

When it comes to the actual run through Kickoff, what do you think were the biggest factors that helped you improve so quickly?

nAts: The main thing that happened, as everyone saw after the FUT match, is that usually the difference between a good team, a decent team, and a great team is how they answer to a loss. In Kickoff we did very well after the FUT match, the way we approached it and the way everyone put their energy into qualifying. 

I think everything just came together and that was the result. But that’s what I liked. It’s not always happening like that, that after a loss you’re actually taking the right path. It’s also, in some ways, a bit lucky, because you need to choose the right path. We were on the right path. Let’s see how it’s going to be in Bangkok.

Let’s talk about the Heretics match specifically. Not only did you win it, but you did it in a way that nobody was expecting. How were you guys feeling going into that match?

nAts: We were just going from match to match. We had a very hard schedule and were just trying to show our best. We were just trying to play as much as we can. Against Heretics, we played very well, and we showed that we can be a great team. Even against Vitality, the first two maps were going very well for us. Unluckily, the last three didn’t go [our way], but that’s just how I saw it as a player.

LohaN: Since we went to the lower bracket so early, every game felt like an elimination game, in my POV. I think being an underdog helped a lot with not feeling that type of pressure, so every game we thought, it’s just another game, one more to go. I don’t think as a team we even touched that subject — “if we win, we go to Bangkok.” I don’t think that was even in our heads. We were just focusing on the game. And we won.

What was the biggest thing you learned from the Vitality match that you’ll take with you into Masters?

LohaN: It was a different defeat than the FUT game, for sure. There’s a big learning experience especially in terms of strategy and our game plan. We learned quite a few things, but I think the key aspect is us managing our energy throughout a best-of-five series. That game specifically, I mean, we played so many maps in the span of two, three weeks. That game we had played a best-of-five the day before, a best-of-three the day before that, and I think exhaustion started to take [hold].

The energy wasn’t there, and it was hard to keep finding solutions. When we started losing the momentum, it was very hard for us to come back, but at the end of the day it was a learning experience. Both these defeats we had this early into this season, I think, are big learning experiences for the future. So next time we are in this position, we probably will know how to deal with them much better.

Your first-round matchup in Masters is EDG. How are you guys feeling about that?

nAts: I mean, it had to be them, yeah. It’s good. I played only once against them, I think in Tokyo. It’s good to play against them. It’s overall good to play against different regions. You face way different stuff. In the game, you’re like, “wait, what is going on?” That’s usually what you don’t see, what you don’t practice against. And that’s the main thing for every team, and especially for the young players — they’ll face something that you usually don’t face, especially on the stage, because different teams, different playstyles, different regions. It’s good to play against CHICHOO, against KangKang, and the rest of the boys.

LohaN: I’m super excited to play against EDG. They have a very specific playstyle, we have a very specific playstyle… I’m just excited. I think what matters the most is us being in control of the things that work for us, and making sure we implement the things that we’ve been working on, and we play the way we usually play. We have a system, we know it works, so just to make sure as soon as we get to the stage, we play our game.

Is there anything you want to say to the fans?

LohaN: Thank you to the fans for all your support. Honestly, I know last year wasn’t great for a lot of the Liquid believers. So for the ones who have been believing, thank you for supporting us.

nAts: I want to say thank you especially for the fans who, no matter how the year goes, on the broadcast, on the stage, they still come and support. No matter what the result, they just come and see how Liquid plays. No matter how we play. Sometimes we don’t enjoy the way we play. But, yeah, thank you so much for supporting us from the start. See you in Bangkok.