From mainstay to missing: Liquid fails to qualify for ESL for first time in seven years

Team Liquid missing an ESL One used to feel impossible, not because they always won, but because they were always there, a permanent shape in the background of the circuit that made every event feel a little more “complete.”

But not this time.

Team Liquid’s ESL One Birmingham hopes ended in brutal sequence, first falling 2–1 to Virtus.pro for upper-bracket position and then getting fully eliminated after a 2–1 loss to MOUZ, marking their first missed ESL One since 2019.

That sequence is what makes this hit harder than a standard qualifier slip. It wasn’t one bad series, one upset. It was Liquid being tested twice in the exact setting they’ve historically survived, and coming up short both times. Adding insult to injury, Virtus.pro weren’t just the team that beat them, they were carrying extra narrative weight: Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek, benched in the aftermath of The International 2025, is now on the VP roster.

Since The International 2025, Liquid have been living inside a rebuild that’s less about swapping names and more about replacing identity. Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi's retirement didn't just remove a player, it removed a core voice of the team. Damien “kpii” Chok's depature after two years as assistant coach took another layer of structure with him, one that helped Liquid reach their peak at TI 2024.

Liquid then brought in Marcus “Ace” Christensen and Erik “tOfu” Engel, two players who for the last couple of years felt like an unbreakable problem whenever Liquid ran into them. On paper, it’s exactly the kind of move that should have made Liquid unbeatable. For the changes to work tOfu swapped from soft support to hard support and took on captain duties to start the season. But success doesn't happen overnight and it has come at the price of trying to reform roles and an identity.

Since the revamp, Liquid’s placements have been a story of flashes rather than dominance:

• 3rd at FISSURE Universe: Episode 7
• 9-12th at BLAST Slam IV
• 4th at FISSURE Playground 2
• 3rd at PGL Wallachia Season 6
• 9-16th at DreamLeague Season 27

They’ll get another chance soon. Liquid are already locked in for FISSURE Universe: Episode 8 later this month, and BLAST Slam VI is also on the calendar.

ESL One Birmingham 2026

ESL One Birmingham 2026 is expected to run from March 22nd-29th. Six teams —Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming, PARIVISION, OG, Team Spirit, and Team Yandex— received direct slots based on the results of the ESL Pro Tour 2025/2026 season. The rest of the teams were forced to earn their space in regional qualifiers.

BetBoom Team and Aurora will be on hand, as well as GamerLegion and REKONIX — the Indonesia based team making waves latey in SEA region. Muhammad “InYourDream” Rizky Anugrah's stack recently made their way into the grand finals of the BLAST Slam qualiifers. Taking down all their challengers, REKONIX secured their spot at BLAST Slam VI, and what would be the team’s first ever Tier 1 Dota 2 event.

To absolutely no-one's surprise, Team Falcons have already secured their spot. Virtus.pro and MOUZ have also claimed a spot. One more for the region is up for grabs and is between NAVI and Nigma Galaxy.

South America's representative will also be determined on January 20th. Only one team will advance and the battle is looking to be as spicy as ever.