Before signing ex-Counter-Strike player Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen, Team Liquid had a serious problem. They had all the components they needed to succeed, but time and time again, they fell short in matches and couldn’t win. So Team Liquid benched in-game leader Adam “ec1s” Eccles for Jamppi. In a press conference for VALORANT Champions Tour Masters 2: Reykjavik, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom revealed that the problem in the team was ec1s, and his release is what allowed the team to qualify for Masters.
ScreaM’s thoughts ahead of Masters 2
“Yeah, we have had problems with ec1s and with Liquid because [ec1s] was taking over the calls a lot,” ScreaM said. “But I think in VALORANT we need five brains to work.”
The team dropped ec1s for the young sniper Jamppi. But with ec1s gone, the team needed a new IGL to take over. Instead the team opted for everyone to contribute to calling strategies.
“Obviously, we don’t have a set in-game leader, but I tried bringing my experience. I have a good vision of the game as well, soulcas is doing kind of the same,” ScreaM said. “So we have a good mix of working to adapt to the game, and obviously we have amazing strats as well to mix it up.”
“As I said, we don’t have an in-game leader, but we don’t need it. We just have five amazing gamers, five amazing players,”
This is the moment you've been waiting for…
Welcome to the Team @Jamppicsgo pic.twitter.com/vPYi9iaBjk
— Team Liquid Valorant (@LiquidValorant) February 25, 2021
Overall, ScreaM and Team Liquid are looking better without ec1s. The team dominated in Europe’s qualifier for Masters 2, even beating Fnatic in the grand final. The team’s confidence is also at an all-time high according to ScreaM.
“I don’t even know who we’re playing but we’re going to destroy everybody,” ScreaM said when asked about the tournament.
Liquid’s debut match will be on Tuesday, May 25 against the winner of Crazy Raccoon vs. Version1.
