A Spotlight On Our Fans - Plato Data Intelligence

Republished By Plato

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Earlier this year, we launched Liquid+, a place where Team Liquid fans come together, with the intention of giving back to our fans and connecting with them. From campaigns to Experiences, Team Liquid has seen an incredible amount of content come out of our communities.

As we see 2021 come to a close, we want to take a moment to highlight some of our biggest community members here, on teamliquid.com—some of our superfans who have stayed with us through everything. Each one of them has a unique story, their own path to fandom—and we want to share those stories right here for the Liquid+ December Community Spotlight.

Each one of our fans were chosen for passion and their dedication to supporting Team Liquid through everything, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Some of them show their love through numerous tweets, while others go above and beyond to create something that brings the community closer. Some of them are consistently on the hunt for Liquid+ points—not for the points themselves, but to demonstrate their appreciation for Team Liquid and its positive impact on their own lives.

You know him as “HeartOfKyber” on social media, but when it comes to Team Liquid, this man’s got a heart of gold.

As a child, Cody grew up watching various different sports, from soccer to hockey, and continued doing so through college. When he’s not on the field, he’s also spending some time doing some photo and video editing, making Team Liquid themed backgrounds and editing stream clips. He fell in love with Team Liquid during the Curse days, with Saintvicious and Voyboy being some of his favorite players to watch.

“I love [Team Liquid] and everyone who works there! I have had so many amazing experiences and conversations with people who work for the org. Getting to talk to people I have looked up to in the esports scene has been beyond mindblowing.”

You’ve been supporting us since Curse, so you must have a lot of favorite players in your mind. Besides Voyboy and Saintvicious, who else is on that list?

Stewie2K, CoreJJ, Oh_Nocturnal, EliGE, NAF. Past ones would be Nitr0, Doublelift, Casper, Broxah, and xS3xyCake.

Tell me more about the amazing experiences and conversations you had.

I got to meet Doublelift at All-Stars 2018, so that was cool. The tailgates have always been really fun, the watch parties for different games, getting to be a part of the new year’s celebration on the TL twitch channel. Watching TL win their 4th LCS title and make it to finals in MSI, seeing the CSGO team win the grand slam and the PUBG team winning the Kickoff tournament.

We see you wearing Team Liquid apparel all the time on social media. Do you have a favorite one in mind?

I love the jerseys, but the LQD reflective hoodie is something that I wish I hadn’t missed out on because every time I see someone wear it, I love the way it looks.

You can catch Cody chowing down on some savory Thai food, like Pad Woon Sen and Pad Thai. He can also be seen spending time with his parents’ dog: Yogi, the Imperial Shih Tzu.

Move out of the way, friends—we’ve got a woman of wonder in the Liquid+ fandom!

Ashlen is a passionate runner who at one point organized a 5K once a month (you read that right—a 5K run every MONTH). Just this year, she along with her husband, friends, and a few members of Team Liquid participated in a 5k obstacle course race known as the “Rugged Maniac”.

Her cats keep her company often, and like a lot of things are enjoyed best with a glass of cranberry ginger ale. As a huge fan, Ashlen catches every CS:GO game she can with her husband. The moment she saw Team Liquid on the screen and how they were interacting with each other, she naturally gravitated towards watching them play. They soon became her favorite players, and Team Liquid soon became her favorite team.

“I really want to thank everyone that’s been involved in the Team Liquid community, especially the folks behind the Liquid+ community. They have created a space for all of us to come together and celebrate the organization we love.”

What made you decide, in that moment of watching CS:GO, that Team Liquid would be your favorite org?

Once I started watching Team Liquid play CS:GO, I slowly started watching other esports they were involved in and became a more active member of the community. I also joined Liquid+, and now it just feels like a big family (yeah, it’s cheesy, i know). Team Liquid isn’t just about the big name and the big games—they actually care about the fans and the community too, and I think that is so important and makes so much difference when choosing an organization to support.

You watch the CS:GO team compete often. Would you consider them to be your favorite players?

Because you haven’t heard me mention it enough, the CS:GO guys have always been on my list of favorite players. Fallen always looks so happy and is always upbeat, supporting the other guys even when things aren’t going their way.

Tell us about your cats!

I have two cats. One of them thinks he’s a dog and is honestly probably bigger than some dogs (he’s about 20lbs lol). The big white chonk we have is named Chandler, and the little jerk of a smaller grey cat is named Little One (he was really tiny and we couldn’t come up with a name for him lol).

You can catch Ashlen enjoying an iced caramel macchiato (her favorite beverage) or a nice mimosa (her other favorite beverage).

This man loves Liquid. He loves Liquid so much that not only is his entire social media presence dedicated to his favorite esports org, his favorite drink is the origin of all liquids—water!

Erik is an incredible individual who started his fan journey back in 2010 while playing Starcraft Beta. He stumbled upon the TL.net forums and was interested in one particular post—a video called “TLOwnage”, which captured TLO playing his ladder placement matches against randomized players using crazy builds. Erik then went on to follow other Team Liquid players at the time, like Ret, hayprO, Jinro, and nonY. His fandom was even captured during TI8 in Vancouver during Team Liquid’s match vs. PSG.LGD (You can watch this moment here!).

“The core principles of Team Liquid are things that I really resonate with. They aren’t written out on some wall and demanded by the fans or expected of the players. Team Liquid has always been the org that embodies positivity, inclusivity, a sense of community, and an endless willingness to win.”

Do you have any other favorite players?

I’m going to answer this for current and past because I can’t choose. For past players, I would have to say Taeja, HerO and Kuroky all hold special places in my heart as a TL fan. Going back to TLO, he is doing amazing things now with Shopify, but he was my introduction to Team Liquid and I loved watching his playstyle. Taeja and HerO represent one of my favorite eras of Liquid and were so dominant and incredible to watch with such funny personalities. As a DotA fan, I think we owe Kuroky so much for building such an incredible team and bringing Liquid to hoist the Aegis.

Current players, I think NAF is definitely one of them and I was really happy to see him re-sign. Insania is a great personality and a fantastic captain. Hbox is an incredible player and personality and I would consider him a franchise player for Team Liquid. He’s such a big face for the team and has really filled the TL trophy shelves. Flanker is also a really great player and personality in the Apex space and I think he fits the Liquid brand perfectly, I should stop now. I’m just going to keep naming players because I spend so much time watching them all.

Your social media is all dressed up with Team Liquid, but what about yourself? Do you have any favorite Team Liquid apparel?

This is a really tough question. I feel like this changes with every release because there is always something amazing. I would say the LQD_V1 Hoodie is probably my favorite. It was really eye opening having a piece of apparel that was fashionable but also produced by an esports team, something I never really thought could happen.

Also runner-up is definitely the Mineral Rinnegan T-Shirt from the recent Naruto drop. I really love the material and the fit of that shirt. Wait! I also really love the Derp420 T-Shirt which has an awesome cut. OH! And also just generally the theme and design of the BLNY (Better Luck Next Year) shirt. Honestly this is just too hard, I have too many jackets that I could name as my favorite as well…

I’ve heard that you created some really cool content with Team Liquid. Can you tell us about that?

I got to be part of the Game Guides team and contribute to that series thanks to the Liquid+ staff. It was absolutely surreal hearing myself in Team Liquid content and working with the team on that video. It’s a little funny to say, but I had a signed contract for the work on those videos with my signature and Steve’s signature and I just had to print it out and frame it. I am forever a fan of this fantastic team and the wonderful people that work tirelessly for it.

You can catch Erik enjoying a wonderful cut of lamb and sipping on some ice water (his preferred way of enjoying Liquid—besides watching Team Liquid compete, of course.) Also, be on the lookout for more of his creative talent in some Liquid content soon.

When we say our fans are kickass, we really mean it—and Raul is one of them.

A mechanical keyboard enthusiast who’s heavily into MMA, Raul loves to experiment with things that not only challenges himself mentally, but also physically. He is also an avid weightlifter with incredible stats to back it up. Squats? 200kg. Deadlifts? 220kg. And benching? 140kg. He’s strong—like, really strong.

Raul discovered Team Liquid through their website because he was interested in the Korean Starcraft scene. Not only did he find it to be the best place to stay updated on live matches, it was also the place where he learned English—out of his desire to participate, learn, and share the knowledge he had about the game.

He was also part of the graphics team briefly and created the first usable TL.net app, a place for fans to post, read, send messages, and more on mobile. You can still find some screenshots of the app here.

I have a very important question for you: Do you have any pets?

I do! I have two dogs: Tormenta (rescue) and Cleo (short for Cleopatra / Beagle).

Which players in the org stand out to you? Who are some of your favorites?

NAF, Stewie2K, CoreJJ, Ibiza, Hungrybox, Slyssa, ScreaM, Nivera, Alixxa, Soulcas, L1nk, Jamppi, AKAWonder.

GUYS WE SIGNED NAF THROUGH 2024 HOW F*CKING COOL IS THAAAAAT :D

It’s so awesome that you’ve been supporting Team Liquid for so long. Tell me about some of your favorite moments.

Following the guys Courage Tournament runs (NonY, ret, etc)

CS:Go Grand Slam

When we signed Piglet

Back-to-back-to-back-to-back LoL Championships

The endless-hungrybox stream. That was insane.

Our double-OT clutch win vs NaVi (IEM Katowice 2021) KATAHHVITTZA

nitr0’s Overpass AWP clutch

Winning vs iG (MSI)

You have been cheering us on for years, and spent so much time at events and on the Discord. Was all the effort you put towards Team Liquid’s community worth it?

F*ck yeh, this is the best community to be a part of. I love it. I don’t see myself cheering for any other team. Team Liquid just has something special to it that I just can’t really put into words, but you definitely feel it when you join the community and just become a part of it.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give a shoutout to all the OG members of the community back then: Plexa, Nazgul, Manifesto7, pheer, ret, drone, Rekrul, Hot_Bid, EvilTeletubbie, FakeSteve, dronebabo, mrmin123, Locked, IntoTheWow, decafchicken, Waxangel and the many more that made TL.net such a great place to be a part of.

You can catch Raul enjoying a delicious double bacon cheeseburger with cajun fries (make that EXTRA cajun fries).

Did you all know that there is a Team Liquid fan out there who has hiked on the Appalachian Trail? Did you know that this person also got involved in Boy Scouts and later became an Eagle Scout? It’s true, and his name is Revere.

The MLG Columbus 2016 Major was the first time that Revere saw Team Liquid’s CS:GO team—as the last standing North American team. Impressed by their performance, he was hooked into the quarterfinals match against Fnatic and enjoyed watching his two favorite players, Hiko and S1mple, compete. Since then, he’s followed the CS:GO team through each tournament and continues to root for Team Liquid as a whole.

When asked about any favorite in-game moments, his answer was very clear. During the ESL Cologne 2016 major, Revere recalls S1mple successfully performing a double no-scope on Cache against Fnatic during the semifinals. He witnessed history through his phone as he watched Team Liquid become the first NA team to make it to the finals of a CS:GO major.

“I don’t regret any of the time that I’ve spent in the [Team Liquid] community. If anything, I’m looking forward to next year—I want to become more involved in any way that I can.”

What are some of your FAVORITE Team Liquid apparel pieces?

My two all-time favorite Team Liquid apparel pieces that I own are my Washington Wizards Team Liquid basketball jersey as well as my 2016 Team Liquid jersey that’s signed by Hiko, Nitr0, and jdm.

I’ve heard that you’re an impressive hiker. Tell us more about that and any other passions.

Outside of gaming, I really enjoy the outdoors overall through hiking, camping, and backpacking. I first became captivated by the outdoors through my involvement in Boy Scouts when I was younger where I later became an Eagle Scout. One of my favorite backpacking trips that I have ever done was when I hiked 60 miles of the Appalachian Trail within the span of three days.

Another hobby that I also dedicate my time to is assisting victims of scams, primarily in the CSGO trading community. I volunteer at several services and nonprofits that focus on cleaning up the community and promoting safe trading practices for users. Some of the services I volunteer at include CSGORep, DiscordRep, Rise Trading, Sharkbay, etc.

Which Team Liquid teams do you keep up with? You must have at LEAST a favorite or two.
My favorite esports titles that Team Liquid is a part of are CSGO, League of Legends, and Dota.

You can catch Revere enjoying a plate of linguini with alfredo sauce and clams. Delicious!

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These five fans are just a few of the many Team Liquid fans who have become a part of the community throughout the years, and we look forward to bringing in so many more. If you’d like to be a part of the experience and create memories, join us here.

And for Team Liquid fan experiences on the go, download the Liquid+ mobile app to gain access to all of our quests, events, and campaigns right at your fingertips. From our team to yours, happy holidays and a wonderful rest of the 2021 calendar year!

Writer // Vivian Nguyen
Design // Tiffany Peng