After a month of struggles concerning his visa, Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen has finally arrived in North America. Last week, the Team Liquid organization announced the 22-year-old Dane’s visa had finally been approved. Since he wasn’t in North America yet, though, the League of Legends team had to play week 3 without their new jungler as well.
But Broxah finally arrived in NA yesterday evening. He’s already played a scrim with the team and is expected to start for them in week 4. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s the solution to the issues Team Liquid has faced since the beginning of the split.
A rocky start for the four-time LCS champions
We’ve already grown used to Team Liquid placing at the top of pre-season power rankings. This year was no exception, as most people predicted TL would finish at least in the top 3. Acquiring Broxah instead of Jake “Xmithie” Puchero was seen as an upgrade, and they kept the rest of their roster together.
However, the visa issues brought more problems than the team first expected. Shern “Shernfire” Tai had to sub in for Broxah, and although he did a good enough job, the team just didn’t look convincing. They split the first week with an opening match loss to Cloud9 and a victory against TSM. Many thought this would be it, but Liquid won only one of their next four games, even against weaker teams.
Team Liquid is currently tied for 7th on the LCS ladder, with only CLG having one win less than them. On the other hand, Cloud9 now sits firmly on top of the standings with six wins and zero losses.
Is Broxah the fix-all solution Liquid needs?
One could argue that the visa issue concerning Broxah and some of the coaching staff is the reason for Liquid’s horrible start. However, we can’t say for sure if Broxah’s arrival will be able to fix things, at least not immediately. Broxah may help the team step up in a big way, but it will take time. They haven’t played much together, and synergy between the jungler and laners in League of Legends is of utmost importance. Once they get used to each other, Broxah’s strong early game presence will certainly become a key aspect of Team Liquid’s play going forward.
Look who made it 🤩🥳
Welcome to NA, @BroxahLoL ☺ pic.twitter.com/McBko9n2bL
— Team Liquid LoL (@TeamLiquidLoL) February 14, 2020
Of course, we can’t blame everything on Broxah’s absence. Team Liquid’s biggest problem likely lies in the current meta, which is very unfavorable for their play style. In previous seasons, Liquid mostly played around their star ADC Peter “Doublelift” Peng. However, in the current meta, the marksman is one of the weakest roles in the game. This makes it particularly hard for them to execute their style. Unless the meta changes, they will have to adapt. But I’m fully confident they can do that.
Do you think Liquid will turn their season around now that Broxah is there? Let us know in the comments below! And for more League of Legends content, stay in touch with Daily Esports.
