It’s been a surprising season so far, even for the reigning MSC champions.
The first half of MPL PH S16 is done and dusted for Team Liquid’s Sanford and while they finished it with a win, there’s still more work to be done.
“For me, feeling ko na hindi pa rin ito yung form natin before,” said Team Liquid’s Sanford Vinuya. Team Liquid has struggled in the first half as they decided to take a break before the season. While it was a unanimous team decision, it did lead them to fall behind in their own preparations. “Nagi-improve lang kami, slowly getting there.”
Yet despite the lack of practice, Team Liquid still find themselves at the top half of the group. The road there hasn’t been easy however as Aurora Gaming and Twisted Minds are challenging them for that top spot.
“Well, alam naman natin sa MPL Philippines, kaya talagang mag-dominate kahit sinoman,” said Team Liquid’s Sanford when asked about Aurora and Twisted Minds’ performance. “And feel ko na nakapag-ready sila ng mas maaga and na-execute nila ng mas maganda yung game nila. Sa preparation talaga yung bakit naging maganda yung run nila.”
On the other hand, not all the projected top tiers are doing well. Team Falcons are stuck at the bottom of the rankings and not even Sanford can figure out why.
“Nung nakalaban namin sila, hindi ko rin ma-figure out kung saan sila nagkukulang. So feel ko sa team chemistry sila nagfa-fall off lang. Tapos siguro kailangan nila i-finalize kung sinong EXP Laner yung mas-fit para sa kanila.”
The Missing Piece
As mentioned before, Sanford believes that Team Liquid is still not back in form even after four weeks of play. There’s a crucial element still missing from the team that they’re still searching for.
“Kailangan namin hanapin yung missing piece na ginagawa namin nung MSC,” said Team Liquid’s Sanford. “Like, merong certain heroes na kung nakuha namin, super high chances of winning.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that it comes down to a specific hero pick. Moreso that Team Liquid had an X factor that made them hard to stop. Now that other teams have had the time to study them, Team Liquid are searching for a new edge that they can use to their advantage. But until then, it’s back to staying sharp the old fashioned way.
“Kailangan din namin linisin and talinuhan yung laro namin. Yung preparations namin sa game – kailangan hindi pwede kami magpabaya and doblihan namin if kaya kung gusto namin matalo yung Aurora and ONIC PH.”
Banner photo from MPL Philippines.