Team Liquid in Crisis: Out of ESL Birmingham 2026

24 Jan

Eric Oliveira

Team Liquid has always been a powerhouse but seems to be going through a crisis since the retirement of Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi. After a string of inconsistent results and struggles to find equilibrium with their new roster, Liquid failed to qualify for ESL Birmingham 2026.

Team Liquid placed 5th in the Western European Closed Qualifier after losing to MOUZ in a 2–1 comeback in the Lower Bracket Semifinal. This marks the first time in literal years that Liquid has neither qualified for nor received a direct invite to an ESL tournament.

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Team Liquid is in Crisis

Crisis can mean many things, but failing to qualify for one of the biggest tournaments in the professional circuit should be accurate enough. Team Liquid has struggled to find balance since the post-International roster shuffle in 2025.

Insania retired, and Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek was benched, while Erik “tOfu” Engel and Marcus “Ace” Christensen were signed as the new offlaner and hard support. Since then, Team Liquid placed 9th at BLAST Slam IV, 3rd at Wallachia Season 6, 10th at DreamLeague Season 27, and 2nd in the DreamLeague Season 28 Qualifiers.

[embed]https://x.com/teamliquiddota/status/2000679761690157484[/embed]

These results are not bad, but considering that Liquid were the standing champions until Team Falcons won TI in 2025, the situation is concerning.

Team Liquid also lost a sizeable sponsorship less than a year ago. Their new players did not leave Gaimin Gladiators on the best of terms, and now the team has failed to qualify for the first ESL One of 2026.

More Than Just a Tournament

Some might think this is no big deal, and it could indeed be just a slip. However, considering that Team Liquid has already faced major problems over the past year, and that this roster includes some of the best Dota 2 players in the world, this feels like a real warning sign.

The ESL Pro Tour uses its own point system that leads to the Riyadh Masters and the Esports World Cup. Losing a large amount of points could push Liquid into qualifiers, assuming they even take place.

[embed]https://x.com/teamliquiddota/status/1976180833196347673[/embed]

On top of that, team chemistry remains a persistent issue. tOfu and Ace are excellent players, but separating them may have been a mistake.

On one hand, Team Liquid could try swapping tOfu and Boxi to see if things improve. On the other, moving a literal TI-winning soft support out of his role in hopes of better chemistry may be too big of a gamble at this stage.

MOUZ Showing Results

In contrast to Team Liquid’s current crisis, MOUZ defeating them and qualifying for ESL Birmingham 2026 is clear evidence that their hard work is paying off. The roster was rebuilt in September 2025 and has been evolving rapidly ever since.

Despite their shorter history of success, MOUZ has outperformed Liquid in every tournament since the post-International roster shuffle, with the exception of DreamLeague Season 27, where both teams delivered below-average results.

[embed]https://x.com/mousesports/status/2013621651821240636[/embed]

Now, MOUZ prepares for its next challenge, while both teams are likely to receive direct invites to PGL Wallachia Season 7 after placing in the Top 3 of the previous edition.

If you want to stay informed about the latest tournament news, team performances, hero builds, meta shifts, and more, check out the news page on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Source: Flickr(dota2ti) and Twitter(@teamliquiddota)