Insania: How Team Liquid Dota became a powerhouse in 2024

With The International starting in a few days time, Team Liquid is one of the top contenders for Dota’s most prestigious prize. The team has been in strong contention throughout most events throughout the year and have just won Elite League in Peru ahead of The International. Monster caught up with Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi ahead of the event to get his thoughts on the year so far, the lead-up to The International, and the brand new Dota 2 Circuit.

One of the biggest challenges you guys had at the start of the year was transitioning from Zai to 33 in the captain position. Do you mind talking about some of the challenges you faced during that period?

Well, Zai used to be our captain and greatly influenced how we approached Dota. 33, coming along from Tundra [Esports] had a different approach and playstyle than us. Tundra was very focused on efficiency and squeezing the map dry of resources. On the other hand, we were very focused on shutting down opponents and not letting them play their game. Getting these ideas to mix was difficult. 

After a few months though, I feel like we are in the right direction. The new 7.37 patch helped too. Even with the previous roster of Zai and Matu (Matumbaman) we faced similar issues. So to make so much progress in a few months is quite impressive and I think we were able to show those results at [Riyadh Masters 2024].

Speaking of the structure of Liquid as a team, I did some research on a recent podcast between Capitalist and Blitz. Blitz noted that Boxi was one of the primary shot callers on the team. Do you mind going over his influence on the team? 

Boxi’s biggest strength as a player is how he can progress the game for us. In a game as complicated as Dota, it’s very difficult to find the small openings that can push you ahead and I think he is unmatched at that skill. I don’t think we could ever find a player to replace him at that role. 

The core of you, Boxi and Micke, have played together for several years. Do you feel like that connection provides you an advantage? 

If you asked me a few years ago, I would have a better answer but I’ve played with some new players recently, so it's hard to see the impact of stuff like that. We’ve been able to develop a unique team culture. Every time we have brought someone into the team, they enjoy being here. I think it has to do with the dynamic between Micke, Boxi and I having known each other as long as we have. 

We have really learned to problem-solve as a group over the years. A lot of these teams last a year or two at most and never get to the point that we do. We’ve been with each other for so long that we have found ways to overcome our differences and tackle issues because we want to work with each other. Through all of those experiences, we’ve become quite adaptable.

Liquid is a team that has surrounded itself with high expectations. Despite doing well at Riyadh Masters 2024, the team went through a slump from ESL One Birmingham to Dreamleague. What happened during that time and how were you guys able to turn it around in Elite League? 

At the beginning of the year we were playing heroes that didn't really fit our style, which caused some struggles. Speaking for myself I know that I struggled with my hero pool. We were able to find ways around it at the time, but to be at the top, you have to play the meta. We were also still aligning our ideas with 33 just joining the team. 

The patch 7.37 drop and getting more time to play together helped us a lot. At the beginning it was really difficult to find a way to align ideas when you’re used to playing a certain way for so long. I give a lot of credit to Blitz and 33 for making sure that the team dynamic was such that all of us were enabled - to a point where we were all comfortable. 

I would say that along with Gaimin Gladiators and Team Falcons, you guys are vying for the title of best team in the world. You’ve lost to both these teams in a grand final this year. Do you mind talking about the rivalry? 

Over the last year, Gaimin have been our biggest rival. Their ability to take advantage of small mistakes you make is second to none, especially in the first 15 minutes. If you aren’t 100% on point when you play against them, they will punish you. Especially between both our teams, because we both want to snowball a game from the 15 minute mark. I feel like they can get the edge on us in almost every early game. 

I don't consider Team Falcons as rivals. They are an excellent team of really talented players, an incredibly solid team that have good foundations and strategies. Their ability to flex heroes between Malrine and Ammar is incredible. They’re somehow equally as good on heroes they flexed, it’s like playing against robots. They’re hard to draft against, it feels like you really have to pick between a rock and a hard place. 

In the same podcast I mentioned earlier, Blitz also talked about how a lot of the community waved off your recent Elite League win against 1Win. However, Blitz talked about how strong they were as a team, do you mind talking about them and the recent win? 

After Riyadh Masters we actually half-jokingly asked our manager if we could skip this tournament. We were incredibly burnt out and unhappy with our second-place finish. When we got to the tournament, we were expecting an easy win, but it was anything but. OG, 1win and Nouns were not teams that were easy to beat. We lost to 1Win early on in the group stage and we could feel that we weren't that good. It also solidified that they were a good team. 

Peru forced us to overcome a lot of frustrations and learn to work better with each other in these difficult conditions. Honestly, I’m really thankful for this tournament, we grew a lot during it. Winning it in the end made going through all the hardships worth it, despite having so much burnout. 

Now that we’ve discussed the events prior to The International, I wanted to get some thoughts ahead of the tournament. Could you give me a top 5 teams going into TI? 

I think the top six teams in the world this year have been clear. It’s us, Team Falcons, Gaimin Gladiators, Extreme Gaming, and Team Spirit. I would say it’s very likely that one of these teams ends up winning it all. 

Depending on where the final patch takes us, I think some teams have an edge. When the patches are faster I think us and Gaimin Gladiators have an edge. If the patch slows the game down, then I think Extreme Gaming and Team Spirit have an advantage. Team Falcons will find their own way around the patch and still come out a contender. It really will depend on the group stage meta. 

You mentioned 1Win earlier. Which teams do you think are dark horses going into the tournament? 

Let’s just put it this way: I wouldn’t be surprised if 1Win make top 6 at The International. If they keep putting in the work like they have been throughout the year, they might even contend for the top spot. I also think Nouns showed some great teamplay in Elite League. I think they could also be a potential threat. 

2024 is the first year without the Dota Pro Circuit. Many players brought up the issues with the circuit - from too much time in between matches to prize pool issues. Now that you’ve spent a year away from it, how do you view the system you have now? 

I'll start by saying I think Dota Pro Circuit was a great idea by Valve. It aimed at creating a tier 2 scene and I think every player that is a top player now developed in the Dota Pro Circuit. With that being said, I think that most of what it did. Like you said, teams only played one best of three a week and were forced to stay in shape to play a qualifier at the end of the tour. Nowadays, there are back-to-back tournaments that develop their own metas, allowing for the game to progress. Every tournament lets you go through a journey into the grand final. I think that means a lot. 

However, this new system is also more draining compared to the DPC and I’m not sure if I'm supposed to say this, but next year is going to be even more draining. We are only going to have about a 1-week break from the end of The International and the start of next season. I would be surprised if a team played every single event next year. I think teams are gonna need to choose to prevent burnout before the biggest events at the end of the year. 

Another major complaint that players had against the DPC season was that the year was too TI-Centric. You could win every major tournament of the year, but it still wouldnt be compared to winning The International. Do you feel like The International still has that same prestige? 

I think it’s a really interesting time now with both the Esports World Cup and The International competing for the title of most prestigious event of the year. I do think that The International is something very special for Dota and its decline over the last few years has been really sad. 

I don't think we need to break the record for largest prize pool every year, but going from 40 million to 3 million changed the respect that players had for the tournament. It’s really cool to have one event to look forward to at the end of the year, every team is trying to peak at the same time. It’s also what made winning The International so prestigious, it’s the absolute hardest event to win every year. I think the issue right now is that neither the Esports World Cup or The International stand out as the main tournament of the year and I'm curious to see how it changes in the next few years.