Esports

The Impact of Team Liquid’s Upset at the LoL Mid-Season Invitational



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Credit: Team Liquid/Riot Games

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An esports upset can leave a large mark, both in the annal’s of its respective game’s history, but also the brand and business value of the victorious team. The Mid-Season Invitational is an annual showcase for top League of Legends Database-Link-e1521645463907 team, though only the east Asian teams have ever secured the bragging rights.

That changed this year when North American squad Team Liquid Database-Link-e1521645463907 defied the curse of North America, leaving the group stage and defeating the reigning world champions Invictus Gaming Database-Link-e1521645463907 in the semi-finals. Though unable to ultimately bring home the trophy, reaching the finals stage for the first time had a significant impact on sponsorship visibility and merchandising for the organization.

 

 

On the latest TEO Podcast, Team Liquid co-CEO Steve Arhancet explained that this achievement had been a dream (and running internet joke) for the North American region for the better part of seven years. “It has already come to bear in sponsorship and partnership conversations,” he said, noting that the team had been receiving new lines of inquiry as well as reactivating old conversations.

“We also have invested a good amount into our online apparel,” said Arhancet, who explained that their ‘LQD_V1’ hoodie, a streetwear item, sold out in a day. “We didn’t expect to, we thought it might run for a little bit! We did a limited drop of it, just to test it out because it was a new thing for us…but definitely saw the impact of that. Pleasantly surprised.”

Ken Serra, Team Liquid’s head of communities and engagement, was on point during the game against IG, managing the team’s Discord Database-Link-e1521645463907, social media channels, and other fronts for engagement. “It’s always a rollercoaster of emotion,” he said, noting that as the match turned to TL’s favor, American fans started waking up to watch the game as it played out live in Taipei. “When we were 2-1, a lot of our haters came online and said ‘here comes the reverse sweep,’ so we got even more boost in our users and visibility.”

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Serra goes on to explain that the strong performance in the tournament, while historic in the game’s context, won’t necessarily impact future engagement strategies with TL’s fanbase. “We understand that when you’re a fan of esports, you’re pretty limited in terms of accessibility to it,” he said. “Whether or not we’re successful or unsuccessful in something, we try and try and foster those initiatives through and through.”

In the subsequent weekends, Team Liquid achieved another finals performance at the Dota 2 Database-Link-e1521645463907 MDL Disneyland Paris Major, and a victory at two premier Counter-Strike Database-Link-e1521645463907 events elevated its squad to the top of the global leader rankings.

“A lot of these tournaments and big wins obviously gain an incredible amount of brand equity and visibility for Team Liquid, in such a good way,” said Arhancet. “This is just another example of where we were able to do it for League of Legends, and North America.”

The TEO Podcast is available on both iTunes and Spotify.





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