Even before Masters Toronto began, things were always going to be difficult for Team Liquid.

Their VCT EMEA Stage 1 ended on May 17. A week later, they were playing in EWC qualifiers. A week after that, they flew to Toronto to take part in Masters. This brutal schedule would have been hard to overcome for any team, but there was an added complication on top of all that in the form of visa issues for nAts, the team’s IGL and leader, both in-game and out.

Still, the team did their best to overcome these hurdles. They signed penny, a Canadian stand-in who could play with the team while nAts got his visa. Eventually, nAts was able to rejoin the team, and they won their second-round matchup against MIBR.

But in their most crucial elimination match, the team’s grit and adaptability weren’t quite enough to see them advance to playoffs, and they fell 1-2 to Pacific representative Paper Rex. The highlight was a Lotus map in which the first half ended at 11-1 to Paper Rex, before Team Liquid clawed it back in the second half to take it to overtime, where they ultimately lost the series.

To reflect on this tumultuous tournament, we spoke to coaches LohaN and yaotziN directly after the loss to Paper Rex.

So… how are you both feeling?

LohaN: That’s a tough question.

yaotziN: No feelings for now, I think. I’m proud of the boys. That’s it.

I think that’s something we’re all feeling right now, because over this year, it’s like we’ve been watching this roster grow up. Even outside of literal player changes, they’re a completely different team than they were at the start. What’s that journey been like for you guys?

LohaN: It’s been a rollercoaster this year. I’m not sure if this is what a normal VCT season is like. There’s a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things that we don’t control, a lot of things that we do control. I think when the time came, we had the answer for all scenarios, both things that we control and things that we don’t. I’m really proud of how everyone just managed to pull themselves back up out of any situation this year.

yaotziN: I wish we could have a stage where we could just focus on the game and adapting to the enemy team, instead of all the other stuff. Obviously, all teams have to face some things, but there’s always some sort of drama. Looks a little bit cursed. And I had that for three years in tier two, so that’s my bad, I guess.

LohaN: Same.

yaotziN: I guess it’s just on us.

LohaN: We brought the curse with us.

yaotziN: Because we had this [curse] for so many years in tier two, actually, maybe we learned how to adapt to these situations.

I think the thing most people are really impressed by is how quickly you were able to adapt, even with all these problems. Can you talk a bit about the incredibly short break between EMEA and EWC qualifiers and Masters, and having to deal with the nAts problem, and integrating penny into the roster, and trying to figure out a new way of IGLing, and… was it all just, like, way too much?

LohaN: It was definitely way too much. It came down to multiple hours of discussing, from one day to another, having to make decisions that we don’t know the outcome of because you never control the outcome of these kinds of decisions, when there’s so much on the line… we meet, we discuss, we bring the approach, and we hope it works. 

I think at the end of the day I’m really happy about how the boys managed to shift their mentality to [fit] any situation. It takes some time for them to process the changes and the direction that we’re going, but they always follow the direction and they trust it. It’s mostly thanks to them trusting the decisions, regardless of the situation.

yaotziN: I like that word, “trust.” I think a lot of it is based on trust. Maybe there are a few situations when the boys are like, “there’s no way, this can’t work.” But most of the time they actually follow whatever we say. They trust us, they trust nAts on the server a lot, and I feel like all of this just works based on trust. So it’s an amazing group of people to work around. It’s super nice to see that we can just have a direction and follow it together, and we don’t have fights or something. It’s tough, even like this, but —

LohaN: We have fights between ourselves. And nAts.

yaotziN: Yes, this trio, we have fights. But even losses like this… it was still done as a team, together. So it’s nice, in a way.

You mentioned nAts, who is kind of like the third part of your leadership triad. It’s also his first year stepping into a true leadership role. What’s it been like to work with him and watch him develop as an IGL?

LohaN: I think the biggest reason that he improved so much in his leadership is that he didn’t need to spend so much time learning how to be an IGL, because of how intuitively everything comes to him and how fast he learns. The growth that he had as an IGL was amazing. When we tell him a concept, even a very complex concept, he immediately understands it, which gives him more room to focus on other things, like improving leadership. And I think that’s the biggest thing that he showed this year. I think he’s a pillar for the team.

yaotziN: I think the boys — and everyone watching, even — they would just follow him. Literally to death. They would jump into fire after him. And even today, during this 1-11, the boys did it. Me and LohaN, we couldn’t do anything extra from the coaches’ booth. Like, we literally couldn’t do anything. No pauses, no nothing. It was all up to them on the server and the stuff that they remember.

Even for the whole [Lotus] defense, I said one thing to nAts before the game, and he remembered, and tried to play around it. He can catch up on everything so fast, which is incredible. It’s super fun to work with him. It’s amazing.

Going back to that second half of Lotus… for a spectator, it’s already incredible to watch. But in the coaches’ booth, you’re hearing what they’re saying, you’re seeing all their perspectives. What was it like for you? What were you feeling in there?

LohaN: For me, individually, the whole side, I was refusing to believe. Because I didn’t want to get disappointed. I said to [yaotziN], I’ll only start believing when it’s 12-12. 

yaotziN: [laughs] And then we lost.

LohaN: And then we lost the game! It was very emotional to be in there. We had no pauses, we couldn’t do anything, and even if we could… because we don’t have a lot of practice right now, our solutions would’ve been like, “keep doing what you’re doing.” “You’re doing a great job.” And round by round by round, they showed amazing resilience. It was very nerve-wracking watching it, and I wish I didn’t start believing at 12-12, because now I feel disappointed.

yaotziN: For most of the half, I was emotionless. But then at the end, I started to be, like, “oh, actually, we can maybe win.” And I started to get hyped up after some rounds. But, yeah. Incredible to watch a game like this. And like I said, just give respect to the boys, because whatever they did in the second half was just up to them. Just following, pushing, not giving up… they did their best. They left their heart on the stage, and I’m proud of them.

I think a lot of people are going to be talking about the comps you brought in this tournament. What’s the thought process behind those unorthodox comps?

LohaN: Obviously, we try things in the very, very little time that we have. The first Icebox comp [against BLG] was yaotziN’s idea. We tried it in practice, and it was great. So we said, “let’s run it.” For the second Icebox comp [against MIBR], the Chamber came literally one hour before going to bed at night. We tried different comps on Icebox in that day’s practice, and we were like, “it’s not very good. We need to do something completely different.” We said, “it’s not working. Let’s play a comp we’ve never practiced, and let’s run it today.” It was good enough to beat MIBR.

yaotziN: The idea behind it was to bring firepower to the team, and stack one site. So even if we play very weird stuff, there’s an idea to it. And I feel like in this tournament, we were forced to not play the meta, or what we like to play on some maps, but the idea was there. I’m proud of our work in this direction — and of the boys, too, for being able to execute it, because it’s not always easy to play what we need them to do.

What was it like for you to integrate penny, a North American player, into the roster? Do you think he brought anything different to the team? Or were you just, like, “play Duelist and go”?

LohaN: Yeah, the initial thought process was “play Duelist and go. Go kill.” We needed individual firepower, so we made the decision to pick him up. Then, once we scrimmed the first couple of days, he was pretty vocal and had a good understanding of the game, and we started implementing him a bit more into the system of the team. He was even taking responsibility for some of the situations, which was good to see. We tried to maximize him as best as possible.

yaotziN: I think he provides a fresh way of communicating to the team. I feel like whenever he speaks, the way he says what he says brings a lot of positive energy. He’s definitely a unique player, and he did an amazing job. I’ve played with a six-man roster in the past, and it’s not easy, but he did an insanely good job. It’s not easy for him, for Serial, but they both did well, even without us heavily preparing, because there’s no time for these preparations. That’s the situation, you have to play it out, and they did amazing.

Is there anything you’d like to say to TL fans looking forward to what comes next?

LohaN: To the fans, you can expect… something that we also don’t know what to expect. It’s going to be a good journey to the end of the year. I hope we can make it to Paris. We’re going to do our absolute best to make it to Champions and get into playoffs.

yaotziN: I feel like our team went through a lot. So just keep supporting us on socials. I feel like the boys actually appreciate the support they have. In many, many situations, even in ones like today, reading a lot of nice comments helps the boys. So just keep supporting us, it’s nice to see your support. And hopefully you’re gonna enjoy us winning in Champs.

LohaN: Yes, winning Champs. Not just [getting into] playoffs. Winning.