“I’ve worked a lot on my communication,” TL wayne on adapting to the EMEA Region

At 18, Wayne "wayne" Chang has caught Team Liquid's (TL) attention after winning three domestic Challengers titles in Southeast Asia. While wayne is still adjusting to the cold weather and what he described as “questionable” German food in an interview with esports.gg, he’s already starting to showcase his skills on the VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026 stage.

Following a rough defeat to Fnatic, Team Liquid finds itself in a do-or-die journey in the lower bracket for a spot at Masters Santiago. Will TL wayne make his international debut in March?

Team Liquid entered the 2026 season with three new roster additions, one of them being wayne. The Singaporean player debuted in Tier 2 with Disguised, the VALORANT team owned by Twitch streamer Disguised Toast. After two Challenger titles, the team ended up disbanding due to the league's rules regarding streaming exclusively on SOOP.

In 2025, wayne joined Motiv Esports. The team went on to win the VALORANT Challengers 2025 Southeast Asia: Split 2, defeating NAOS Esports in the final. However, in the most crucial split, the one that would have secured a spot in VCT Pacific 2026, Motiv fell short against BOOM Esports and finished in fourth place.

It was when Team Liquid saw in wayne the potential to do something bigger in his career. Due to the lack of training with the roster, wayne did not play the first game in the league, being replaced by Kimmie "Kicks" Laasner. He officially debuted against Karmine Corp, a game where Team Liquid came out on top and secured their place in the mid bracket.

However, the second clash against Fnatic was not going to be an easy one, and wayne knew it. "We were expecting to win the match. We had a lot of good chances to come back into the game, especially on Split, but we couldn't do it," TL wayne explained. In this opinion, Corrode was his worst map since he had a slow start and couldn't follow the team.

With this roster change, TL wayne is the first player from the Pacific region to compete in the VCT EMEA. Since everything is new for him, he is still getting used to the stage, the cold weather of Berlin, and the food. "To be honest, the food is not the best for me," he laughed. "Asian food is much better, and I'm not trying to offend German food. Everything is different here, but it does not matter. I'm getting used to it."

Compared to the Pacific region, everything is different. TL wayne confesses he is not used to how teams play in the region, so he is still working on it. While he is still building his confidence, he has the support of one of the most experienced IGLs in the world, Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin.

"Having someone as experienced as nAts is so good. He just brings so much value to the team. Even when we are losing, he will tell us to focus and slow our tempo," wayne described. "From the time I've played with him, I think it's been very easy for me to settle in."

Even as a young player, wayne is no longer afraid to speak up. When something needs to be said, he isn’t shy about calling it out. “Back then, I didn’t talk much, but after joining Team Liquid, I’ve worked a lot on my communication,” he said. Even as a recent roster, the player believes the team will get along really well and have fun playing VALORANT.

In the Lower Bracket, Team Liquid can't lose a single game if they want to keep the international qualification dream alive. On Feb. 5, they will be facing the winner of the PCFIC Esports versus ULF Esports match.

There is still a lot of VALORANT to be played in the VCT EMEA, so watch all the matches and have fun. While the Chinese representatives for the Masters Santiago will be announced on Feb. 8, the teams from the remaining regions won’t be confirmed until Feb. 15.