Soulcas of Team Liquid: “I feel like it’s a straight line up since the start to now and even now we’re getting closer to our peak.”

From a disappointing first-round loss to Team Secret in LOCK/IN, Team Liquid has clinched Top 2 within EMEA for professional Valorant as they defeated FUT Esports 3-0 in the lower bracket finals to set up a rematch with Fnatic in the grand finals.

Following their emphatic defeat in Brazil, expectations were low surrounding the team’s chances to qualify for Masters: Tokyo. Not only that, questions emerged as to how its lineup would coalesce with nearly each player having differing opinions on how the team should compete in the server.

Be that as it may, once TL began playoffs as the third seed, they did not look back. Consecutive wins over Team Vitality and Natus Vincere in the upper bracket meant TL had secured their sixth international appearance in the org’s VCT history. While TL suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Fnatic in the upper bracket finals, they wasted no time to rebound by beating FUT in the lower bracket finals.

Although TL had to withstand a tough FUT side that surprised most people by qualifying to Masters, which included a 17-15 quadruple overtime win for TL in Lotus, they held their nerve against their Turkish opposition to secure at least second place in the EMEA League and a spot in the playoff portion of Masters.

Following the series against FUT, Fragster talked to TL’s Dom “soulcas” Sulcas about how they beat their Turkish rivals, what went down in Lotus specifically, the team’s development throughout the season, and who he would like to face in Japan.

Soulcas on facing FUT

Pedro Romero, Fragster: Thanks for the interview, soulcas, and congrats on the win over FUT. I want to start off by asking for your thoughts on that series you just played and what it was like to face FUT in the lower bracket finals.

Dom “soulcas” Sulcas: We were kind of prepared to face the unexpected with FUT because we were waiting to see who we would play against between them or NAVI. We knew NAVI is a bit of a methodical team whereas FUT can be quite chaotic and can frag a lot with their individuals. That’s what we tried to keep in mind in not giving them enough space to do so, but there were still times when the individuals just came out and were shining. I think that’s why it was a bit back and forth and especially on Lotus.

Fragster: And it was in that map of Lotus where the series was at its tightest. Liquid was down 10-2 before coming back in the second half on the attacking side to extend the map to overtime and eventually win 17-15. What was the main catalyst behind the team’s struggles in the first half and what prompted you to trim that deficit and win it in overtime?

soulcas: The main issues were kind of like how we would rotate and how much map space we gave to them. As time went on, Lotus has become a lot more of a T-sided map and it’s become very hard to play on CT side. When it was first released, it was quite a back-and-forth. I think it was also quite CT-sided but it was a lot more fun to play personally, but now that everyone knows how the map works, I think it’s so T-sided that it can be quite hard and overwhelming to try and cover all these areas. It’s so easy to get lurked on and burst on because the sites are quite awkward to play on CT side, so I think we gave them a bit more space than we should have.

Fragster: I guess that put you in a pretty big momentum swing as the series transitioned to Split. What was the momentum like for you in trying to close out FUT in that third map? What was the difference in facing them compared to the second map?

soulcas: We knew Lotus was definitely one of their best maps, so going into Split, we knew it was going to be a bit easier for us. We still didn’t know what to fully expect and how strong they could be, but we knew we had to put up a very good fight to beat them in Lotus, so when we got to Split, once we managed to get some rounds in, I think the momentum was just on our side. We played quite well as a team.

Fragster: It’s on the back of this series that TL lost to Fnatic in the upper bracket finals. How did the team rebound from that loss for this series against FUT?

soulcas: I think we weren’t a bit too hard [on ourselves]. We knew that it was lowers and we were going to play NAVI or FUT, and especially as Liquid as an organization, we just love to play through lowers for some reason. And even with the ex-Gambit boys, they said the same. They always had to go through lowers so I think this is kind of our territory. We weren’t too affected by it. We were excited to play again and hopefully meet Fnatic in the finals.

Soulcas on TL’s improvement in playoffs

Fragster: As is usually the case, Liquid reaches the finals from the lower bracket, but still, it’s a testament to the team’s improvement from the regular season to playoffs. What do you think was the cause behind TL’s improvement in the playoffs at this moment in time?

soulcas: We were a team that definitely needed a lot of time to thrive because we definitely have strong personalities and we had figure out how to work together as a team. I think it was just a long learning progress with—once we experienced so many things, we knew how to act and play with each other and how to work together and I think that’s the main reason why we got so much better as time went on. You can see it as a kind of progression. I feel like it’s a straight line up since the start to now and I think, even now, we’re getting closer and closer to our peak which is super exciting to see.

On Masters: Tokyo and playing with new teammates

Fragster: In reaching Masters: Tokyo, this marks the sixth time you will appear in a Valorant international LAN (and also a seventh too at Champions 2023 provided TL does well in Japan). It speaks to the longevity and staying power you have at the top level of professional Valorant. How have you been able to stay ahead in the game to appear and compete at the highest level in your career?

soulcas: One of the reasons why is because I feel I’m able to take on any role and criticism and stuff. I feel like it’s a perk of mine that I’m not that hard to work with. I don’t really have these strong opinions. I don’t really like to go off on a tangent and become trouble within the team. I think I’m quite grounded and I think that’s one of the big reasons—even when I’m looking back—as to what made me stay here for so long. I think it’s that and also a combination of hard work. I just enjoy putting in the effort and hard work. I don’t want to throw this opportunity away because I’ve kind of achieved some part of my dream and I want to try to finish it by winning tournaments, so I think that’s the main motivator for me and why I attended these many events and stayed here for a long time.

Fragster: It also speaks to your willingness to adapt and play with new players for different iterations of the team. Such people are, of course, nAts, Edgar and Sayf, who all come from teams like Guild and M3C. How have you adjusted to playing with these three people from the start of the year up to now?

soulcas: Even at the start, we could kind of tell it was a fun and humorous environment because back when I played with my friends in the UK, and even in fish123, we had this family vibe where it was a bunch of friends playing the game together and you can even see hints of it when we first started scrimming with each other. Straight away from there, it was just easy to mesh. There were other times where we had to figure out some things and how to work with some personalities, but I think it was needed to make sure we can become the best team we can be.

Fragster: Since you’re going to Masters, which team and player from your role would you like to face?

soulcas: To be fair, even though they’re a strong team, I think I would like to face DRX on stage. Even though we scrimmed with them a long time ago, and even when they were known as Vision Strikers, you could tell what they were good at and they were good with their util. I think it will be fun a matchup. I know definitely Paper Rex will be one hell of a game because their playstyle is so aggressive. As for someone I want to play against in my role, I don’t know really know. I haven’t really thought about that too much. I think it’s more of a team thing that’s more exciting for me to play against.

Feature Image Credit: Hara Amorós / Riot Games / LVP / lag.