Honda no longer Team Liquid sponsor after a player posted a GIF

One social media post was all it took for Honda to cease its partnership and sponsorship of the esports organization. Check out the post, the player involved, Honda's statement, and Team Liquid's reaction.

Last May 14, 2025, Lucas "DiasLucasBr" Dias and Team Liquid lost to the Japanese team CAG Osaka in the group stage of the Rainbow Six Siege tournament RE:L0:AD 2025.

After the loss, Dias went on X to post about it. However, he accompanied his message with a GIF depicting a nuclear bomb exploding. According to the community notes on the post, part of the GIF was taken from the BBC's recreation of the Hiroshima bomb incident. It also pointed out that the GIF shows on X as a result of searching for the term "Hiroshima" on the platform's GIF search.

The caption reads: We won against FaZe but lost against the mighty CAG. We roll into the next competition.

The post has since been deleted.

Dias joined Team Liquid not long ago, and RELOAD was his first competition under the org.

Dias promptly apologized to Japanese fans and said that it was not his intention to make an offensive reference. He also said that he has personally apologized directly to the players of CAG Osaka.

Honda put out a statement days after Dias' post. In it, the automaker has "promptly lodged a severe protest with [Team Liquid] and the player in question." They said that Team Liquid has apologized and implemented measures to "prevent recurrence."

Honda began sponsoring Team Liquid back in 2019. In 2022, the partnership expanded, and the org's League of Legends team was henceforth known as "Team Liquid Honda."

Team Liquid swiftly put up their statement across their social media and official website.

The post began by saying that he "searched for an explosion GIF using generic keywords to express how his team 'blew up' during their loss." This was supported by TL founder and co-CEO Victor "Liquid Nazgul" Goossens. He said that Dias used the term "bomba caindo" (falling bomb in Portuguese) in searching for the GIF and that there was no hateful intent behind it.

Team Liquid reiterated that Dias has apologized to CAG Osaka for the offense he caused, and that the team accepted his apology with grace and understanding. "If we found that Lucas had malicious, prejudiced intentions, we would remove him from the roster," read the post. This implies that Dias will remain in the Team Liquid R6 roster.

The post once again apologized to CAG Osaka and thanked them for their understanding.

Team Liquid then addressed fans in Japan and the Japanese esports community. "We fully understand how this post was disrespectful and hurtful to you. We want to express our sincere regrets and apology that we made you feel this way. We are aware that this moment has been painful for you, and that you have been disappointed with us. We want to reiterate our deep respect for the people of Japan and for their vibrant esports community, and we are fully committed to regaining the trust of the community through our actions as much as our words," read the post.

After the incident, Team Liquid is taking full accountability and is taking the following actions to "prevent simimlar incidents" in the future.

First, Dias will be fined the equivalent of four months of his salary and will undergo media and sensitivity training. The money from Dias' fine will go to a charity.

Team Liquid will also donate all of the prize winnings from RELOAD to a charitable organization. The org finished 9th-16th place, and their winnings amount to 12,000 USD.

Lastly, all TL coaches and players will undergo mandatory re-training, and Dias' tweet will be added to the curriculum as "a real-world case study."

Team Liquid concluded by saying that they understand and respect Honda's decision to part ways, and thanked the motor company for the years-long partnership.

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