After years of keeping the same Dota 2 roster, Team Liquid enters a new DPC season with four Swedes, a Finn, and a very interesting landscape. Can this new Team Liquid regain their footing for the next iteration of The International?
Just a few days ago, the deadline for roster lock-ins for Dota 2’s next DPC season has ended, bringing with it a surprising number of roster moves and changes that is sure to shake up the game at the highest competitive level. Today, we’ll be taking a look at Team Liquid, who managed to acquire two high-profile players amongst the huge roster shake-ups that happened. With some big shoes to fill after the organization’s TI7 win, can this new Team Liquid finally obtain a second Aegis?
Team Liquid Dota 2 roster
- Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen (position 1)
- Michael “miCKe” Vu (mid-laner)
- Samuel “Boxi” Svahn (off-laner/soft support)
- Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg (soft-support/off-laner)
- Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi (hard support)
At a glance
Team Secret’s loss resulted in a massive gain for Team Liquid, that much is certain. While having Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan and Daryl “iceiceice” Koh Pei Xiang is an undeniable gain overall, MATU and zai are arguably an overall better pick-up for the latter, whose former roster failed to get a proper shot at TI10. The deciding factor will be their consistency and overall compatibility; if this new Team Liquid manages to find a decent footing, they have the capacity to be one of the best teams in Europe.
zai era?
Over the past few years, zai has proven to be an underrated strong Dota 2 pro with the potential for amazing plays. Him sharing the off-laner/soft support role with Boxi could prove to be an interesting change, and easily gives Team Liquid versatility over the other teams. With the right nudge, this roster change may introduce Dota 2 fans to a new era of zai with his team. All that’s left is to see how they will perform in their first few matches in the new DPC season.
