Yiliang “Peter” “Doublelift” Peng, Team Liquid’s star League of Legends player and six-time LCS (League of Legends Championship Series) champion, has had his contract put up for trade according to sources from Travis Gafford. This comes on the heels of an incredibly disappointing Spring Split performance where the reigning champions in Team Liquid failed to even qualify for playoffs, placing bottom of the table at 9th.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Doublelift was once considered to be the greatest North American native to ever play in the LCS, with a history of elite performance spanning multiple seasons. As a result, when the already dominant Team Liquid acquired Fnatic jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen heading into Spring Split 2020, many expected great things from the TL roster.
However, the reality of the split turned out to be anything but for the defending champion. After visa issues prevented Broxah from arriving on time, the troubles began. Team Liquid struggled to find a cohesive identity, dropping multiple games to theoretically inferior teams.
Spring Split doesn’t matter?
Internal issues began to rear their head as the team’s problems escalated. Following an infamous interview in which Doublelift suggested that the Spring Split doesn’t matter, fans began to wonder about a lack of motivation from the star bot-laner. In week 6, Doublelift fell ill and was replaced for the weekend by TL Academy ADC Edward “Tactical” Ra, who went 2-0. The next week, Team Liquid owner Steve Arhancet announced that Tactical would continue to be their starting AD for the time being.
Many thought it impossible that Team Liquid would choose to release its star player, citing his history of excellence. Yet this turn of events would seemingly be confirmed by Doublelift, who took to Twitter to express sadness, presumably at his potential release from the team.
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— Yiliang Peng (@Doublelift1) April 16, 2020
While speculation runs wild, there is no confirmation of where Doublelift will be headed in Summer Split, nor who Team Liquid would seek out to replace him. Stay tuned to Daily Esports for the latest updates moving forwards.
Published: Apr 16, 2020 07:24 pm