Blitz and Nisha at TI11

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Liquid Blitz Reveals Talks With Quinn, Arteezy, and Others Before Finalizing Nisha

Rakshak Kathuria
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Highlights
Team Liquid's coach, William "Blitz" Lee, disclosed who they spoke with other than Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, who eventually joined the team.
Players like Artour "Arteezy" Babaev, Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, and Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Khertek were talked to but Nisha reacted fast, rendering talks with the majority of other players worthless.
In addition, Blitz mentioned that he had received responses from players in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Discussions that go into finalizing players for teams rarely come to the forefront, but Team Liquid's coach William "Blitz" Lee revealed whom they had discussions with apart from Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, who actually joined the team. Blitz explained they communicated with a number of top-tier players, including Artour "Arteezy" Babaev, Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Khertek, and others, but Nisha responded very quickly. The team did not hesitate to sign Nisha as its new midlaner since he was at the top of their list. In addition, Blitz mentioned that he had received responses from players in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Blitz mentions the players who were considered for Liquid apart from Nisha

Watching Max "qojqva" Bröcker play a ranked game on his Twitch livestream, Blitz took over the headphones and answered viewers' questions about who they engaged with to find Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen's replacement.

Blitz mentioned sending a soft offer to Arteezy, but he knew he wouldn't join. While talking with him and his Evil Geniuses teammate Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen, Blitz learned that the two were committed to continue playing together despite their lackluster result at The International 11 (TI11). Due to the fact that Liquid only had space for one in the midlane, this option was dropped.

Daniel "Stormstormer" Schoetzau from Entity was also contacted by Liquid. For two reasons, the player also wanted to continue playing for his team: first, he believed they were in the process of building a great team, and second, he felt his departure would “kill” the team, as he already knew Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko was moving out. As a result, his conversation drifted quickly.

Quinn also approached Blitz and inquired about joining Liquid. Blitz stated that they were actively considering his candidature, but they needed confirmation on Nisha's decision first. Because Quinn was also in negotiations with Gaimin Gladiators, the organization asked him to make a choice right away and not consider them as a backup plan. Quinn then joined Gladiators.

TORONTOTOKYO was another prominent player who approached Blitz and the company about joining Liquid. TORONTOTOKYO wanted to be the team's midlaner and drafter and was interested in joining Liquid or BetBoom Team, but the dialogue was halted after Nisha reverted with confirmation in just four days.

Blitz talks about unexpected player applications for Liquid

While there were certain players who Liquid considered, he also believed there were other professionals approaching Blitz who were extremely unprecedented.

Maurice "KheZu" Gutmann, who has previously played for Quincy Crew and is currently an analyst as part of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) broadcast talent, asked if he can play as the team's carry. Dominik "Black" Reitmeier, who has been commentating on professional games for some time, also asked to participate. Blitz mentioned Black claiming his MMR as 11.2k, which he found to be particularly stupefying.

Blitz had posted about seeking a successor for MATUMBAMAN shortly after his departure, and he described how he received an astonishing number of messages on Twitter about recruiting Randy "Dreamocel" Sapoetra from SEA, about he knew nothing about him.

Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon approached Liquid as well, and Blitz stated that they were seriously considering him, but Nisha's quick response rendered further conversations with any of the players pointless.

Finally, Liquid signed Nisha, who was at the top of the team's priority list. The squad has thus far looked terrific with the player, winning 2-0 in its inaugural DPC series against Team Secret. On 13th Jan, Liquid will next face TI11 champion Tundra Esports.


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As a passionate Dota 2 fan for eight years, Rakshak has indulged himself completely in its esports circuit for the past two years as a professional. In addition to covering major news developments, he takes a keen interest in understanding team strengths and player personalities.

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