Team Liquid CEO says “The roster will be different” next year in dramatic statement cover image

Team Liquid CEO says “The roster will be different” next year in dramatic statement

Steve “LiQuiD112” Arhancet took to Twitter to release a video in an attempt to explain the issues behind Team Liquid’s lack of success this past year.

Team Liquid CEO Steve "LiQuiD112" Arhancet has released a dramatic video talking about the results of their LCS lineup. In the video, Arhancet attempts to apologize for the disappointing season as well as explain that there will be roster changes for next season. The video was release on Twitter on the evening of September 12th.

Speaking to fans and partners Steve states directly: “I’m sorry for what has been an epic failure. But I promise you that we have not broken our will, and we will fight, and we’re going to prove to everyone that we can do something really special in League of Legends.” The failure referred to is likely Team Liquid’s subpar performance in the 2022 season.

In 2022, Team Liquid started with a storming performance in the LCS 2022 Lock In, and followed it up with a first place finish in Spring 2022. But third place finish in the Playoffs was the start of a dramatic fall, as while the team qualified for the LCS Championship and found themselves eliminated in Round Three of the bracket by EG. With these results, Team Liquid missed out on Worlds for 2022.

This, from a team that has reportedly spent over 10 million dollars on its roster over the past three years, with a rumored seven million coming in the last year. Multi-million-dollar rosters not making international tournaments isn’t exactly fantastic performance. 

What does Arhancet say is next for Team Liquid?

(Image via Team Liquid)
(Image via Team Liquid)

Which leads us to the Team Liquid CEO’s statement. Arhancet admits that the moves were made in an attempt to reach Worlds 2022, in a year that North America would be the hosts. However, that attempt has seemingly backfired, and the result is this video. 

Team Liquid's Arhancet goes on to explain that they will be doing things differently next year. He continues, suggesting that Team Liquid will build homegrown talent from now on, instead of “building super teams, which has always kind of worked for us to a certain degree… but times are changing.”

While ‘no more super teams’ might be music to the ears of NA fans that would like to see a more home grown roster, it might not spell more success for Team Liquid. Of the 15 players from North America set to represent the home region at Worlds 2022, only four are NA natives. Team Liquid will have to leverage all of its resources as storied NA organization to return to its former glory.