TL LohaN: "It was actually a good loss. Now, we can make the adjustments for the next game"

After opening their campaign with a convincing victory over T1, Team Liquid were soundly defeated by a Gentle Mates side operating at its peak. Now sitting at one win and one loss, the EMEA third seed will play a decisive qualification match this Wednesday against NRG, with a playoff berth and the continuation of their Masters Santiago run at stake.

Having suffered their first match defeat since January 30, head coach Ivo “LohaN” Albino reflected with Sheep Esports on what he described as a “good loss,” as well as on the path ahead for Team Liquid in the tournament.

Ivo “LohaN” Albino: “I think the first map we did play good, and we could have made some adjustments in some details. The second map we just got is quite exploitable in terms of our playstyle. I think they had a good preparation for the game, but it was actually a good loss today, honestly. It's a loss that allows us to reflect a bit and understand what are the gaps in the way we are playing the game right now. And now we can make the adjustments for the next game.

LohaN: We expected it to be a hard game, to be honest. It wasn’t so close in the second map, but we expected it be a close game. They have a very unique playstyle as well. They have really good players, and they are adjusting really well on the game. So I think today honestly, they just were the better team.

LohaN: We were a bit overconfident, honestly, on the first map. They adjusted on their defense side, and we weren't able to make our adjustments. I think we weren't really able to reset, going for the next map. It's not even resetting itself, it's just making these macro adjustments that are needed against a team that was clearly prepared for the second map. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out how to make these adjustments without changing the way we play the game.

LohaN: Honestly, I was quite mad when it happened, because we lost some hours of preparation, but at the end of the day, they also lost more hours of preparation because they had an extra day. So both teams played in the same conditions, and they just had a very simple adjustment that it was quite good for them. I think there is no point in trying to blame the fact that yesterday we lost time for preparation. We were both in the same conditions. That’s it.

LohaN: Obviously, in the last hours of preparation, we cannot go very deep into the game. We need to focus a bit more on ourselves, not so much on the opponents. I think they have quite a different approach. They just focused a bit more on us instead of themselves, and it was really good from them. Right now, when we have to go game after game, it's always going to be down to very small details, very small changes. We're not going to be able to change everything into 24 hours. We did it in the past, but not for this game. It's part of this type of tournament, so the preparation is not always going to be the best. But at the end of the day, if you're having a good day, preparation doesn't really matter. What matters, especially right now, is just shoot heads, to be honest.

LohaN: Yeah. From the start of Kickoff, we didn't really have a lot of time to prepare because we had the visa issues with wayne (Wayne Chang). We started playing a certain playstyle, which wasn't working for us. We had to make a lot of changes. We went to the lower bracket, and elimination, and I mean, it's where we thrive, right? It's been the same story for the last year, where we go through elimination games, and we need to make adjustments, and we figure out what we need to do to become a better version of ourselves. And I think right now I'm still quite happy with the journey that we've been going through. Hopefully, we can once again make the necessary adjustments for the next game and hopefully qualify for the playoffs.

LohaN: I think it's too early to say, honestly. Right now, the game is in a very weird state where it's so random and so momentum-based. It's quite hard to have some sort of benchmark and understanding what the gaps are, what the strengths are, and what direction we are going. I think one of the most fundamental things is trust and having a good system of trust within the team. I think right now we do have it, and we just go game by game and understand. But it's very hard to say right now, honestly, because I think the meta is quite funny, but it's hard to have some sort of benchmark understanding of what's working and what's not working, to be honest.

LohaN: I think it would be qualifying for the playoffs. Last year, we failed to qualify for every playoff in international. We broke a curse already, which is not losing the first game. We won the first game, so it's good to see. Hopefully, we can qualify for the playoffs. We've been very successful regionally, but this year, I really want to fight for an international title. For that to happen, we need to first qualify for the playoffs, so we just need to focus on the next game. And if we win the next game, I'll consider it already as a success, to be honest.

LohaN: It's always fun to play against ex-players that I coached. I mean, I love keiko, I think he's a great player and it's always exciting to face him on the server. Honestly, I don't really care who we play against. Right now, we need to focus a bit on ourselves and prepare for the next game.

Lohan: May the best team win.”