Team Liquid has failed to qualify for the online qualifiers of BLAST Open London after losing their first and only match at RES Showdown 2: BLAST Premier Rising. This marks another low point in what’s been a rough 2025 for the team.
Thanks to their ranking in the July Valve Regional Standings (VRS), Team Liquid was one of eight teams invited to the event. The winners would move on to the online closed qualifiers for the London LAN event scheduled for September. But things didn’t go as planned.
In a surprising upset, the academy squad’s VP. Prodigy ended Team Liquid’s run. They took the first map on Dust II, and although Liquid bounced back hard on Mirage with a 13-2 win, the deciding map on Nuke went into overtime. VP. Prodigy clinched the victory 16-14, knocking Team Liquid out.
After the loss, Russel ‘Twistzz’ van Dulken didn’t mince words: “We are not a team. No words for how we play. Sorry to the fans for the terrible performances in the past weeks.” Harsh, but maybe honest.
We are not a team. No words for how we play. 1 – 2 to VP academy.
— Russel van Dulken (@Twistzz) August 1, 2025
This failure adds to Team Liquid’s ongoing slump in 2025. They’ve only managed top 16 finishes at major events like the BLAST.tv Austin Major and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne, which has caused their VRS ranking to slide further down.
What Next For Team Liquid?
Liquid still has chances to turn things around. They’re one of 32 teams competing in the online phase of BLAST Bounty Season 2. The top eight from that qualifier will earn spots at the LAN finals in Malta. That’s a big opportunity to redeem themselves.
On top of that, Team Liquid will participate in the Esports World Cup from August 20th to 24th, 2025. Plus, they’ve secured a direct invite to the CAC 2025 event organized by Perfect World in October. So, there’s still a path forward, but they’ve got to fix whatever’s broken first.
Is this just a rough patch or a sign of deeper issues within Team Liquid? Fans and critics will be watching closely. Yikes, this kind of early exit hurts the brand and morale.
What do you think Team Liquid needs to do to bounce back? Speak for yourself in the comments below.
