I got into pro LoL in 2012, right before Worlds. My favorite player was Voyboy; when CLG kicked him, I followed him to his new team. At the time, the only thing I knew about Curse was that it was a site for WoW addons, but I quickly grew to love the squad. That first LCS season started great – like the logo, Curse was on fire! But somehow, we faltered at the end, and didn’t make it to finals. That’s okay, though. There was always next year.
Next year, I went out for a dinner date with my girlfriend during the Curse/LMQ series. She made me promise I wouldn’t check my phone while we were out. It was okay, though – when we left, my team was up 2-0! We were going to Worlds for sure! When we came back and I checked the score, I was obviously shocked, but it was okay. There was always next year.
Next year, Curse became Liquid, and the #ElephantonFire became the blue horse. Even without Voy the Boy, this was my favorite iteration of the team yet: Quas, Dom, Fenix, Piglet, Xpecial. We were great! As long as TSM beat CLG (which they definitely would), we’d go to Worlds!
There was always next year.
So many moments of frustration, of heartbreak – TL was the perennial “always next year” team. Usually so close, always so far. From double TPs to end-season collapses to whatever the clusterf—k of 2017 was, Liquid had changed its name, but it still seemed Cursed.
I still worried, deep in my heart. “How will we mess it up THIS time?” But on a Sunday afternoon, “next year” became *this* year. And there will be many more years to come!
From Omi (@HeyitzOmi)
I’ve been a Liquid fan since back in the day where the team was Curse and qualified for S3 of LCS. Six years have gone passed where I did not miss a single Liquid game even during the rough times. I put my faith in the staff, specially on Steve who I knew was doing his best to make TL the best organization. I put my faith in the system that they had designed to achieve what has finally been achieved, an LCS championship. The faith of all the Liquid fans was finally rewarded through this last split. The team looked better than ever, the atmosphere looked amazing, and at times we looked unstoppable. I really could not hold my tears when the squad lifted the trophy, and felt like I was there lifting it with them. Steve’s face is something I probably wont forget, all his work had finally paid off. He worker hard, he did it for the organization, the team, and us the fans. I truly want to thank EVERYONE at the organization for making me feel as part of a family. This championship is the beginning of our legacy, because many more championships will come. Six years I waited, and they were damn worth it.