Team Liquid achieved a historic triumph for North America at Worlds 2026, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament with a confident 2-0 victory over LPL champions Anyone's Legend in the third round of the Swiss stage. This series became a landmark for the entire LCS region, whose representatives had not won a match against Chinese teams since MSI 2019, and allowed the squad to avoid elimination following disappointing opening losses to CTBC Flying Oyster and Bilibili Gaming.
Returning to their own game and conducting a detailed review of their mistakes became the main priority after an unsuccessful 0-2 start, as the team's support Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in admitted in an interview. The coaches pointed out the team's main error: playing too passively in previous matches. Realizing that the issue merely lay in a lack of initiative helped the players regain belief in their abilities. According to the esports athlete, nothing brings you back down to earth quite like a loss to CFO, where the team was completely dazed following an early invade, yet this bitter experience served as a highly important lesson for their future focus.
An unexpectedly successful performance by their rivals from LYON served as a genuine inspiration for restoring the squad's morale. CoreJJ noted that their confident play against other teams clearly proved to Liquid that Eastern rosters are not unbeatable. The support also emphasized that the second map against AL was extremely tense, and the emotions from this triumph were almost as strong as those after securing their long-awaited Summer Split championship.
Preparation for the next challenge in another elimination match against Brazil's LOS is already in full swing, and although on paper this opponent looks objectively easier than the likes of Hanwha Life Esports or G2 Esports, CoreJJ assures that the roster maintains maximum concentration. The players' main goal right now is to take it step by step and ultimately reach the quarterfinals, as their continued presence at the World Championship is currently on the line.
As a reminder, Apex Legends Global Series: 2026 Split 2 Playoffs returns to North America with a $2,000,000 prize pool