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Blitz: "Coaching sucks, and it's way less pay than casting"
Team Liquid concluded last season by winning The International 2024. While many Dota 2 players dream of turning their passion into a professional career, there’s much about the scene that often goes unnoticed.
Coaches, analysts, and other staff members contribute immensely, fostering team chemistry, strategizing for matches, and ensuring the roster can perform at its peak.
Recently, in Team Liquid's special show reflecting the team's journey, William "Blitz" Lee revealed how he got the opportunity to work with the team.
Blitz brokered the deal for Team Liquid
Most players Team Liquid joined the organization in 2019 after playing for Alliance. Blitz shared how that occured.
Credits: (Twitter/@TeamLiquid)
William shared that he was the one who brokered the deal between Team Liquid and the former Alliance roster. As he recounted the story, he emphasized how great achievements often begin with small, decisive steps. Remarkably, the story of the now TI champions began with an unexpected twist—an Uber ride that set everything in motion.
" It started, I think at ESL Katowice. Aiden got into the same Uber as I did. We were gonna go to the other hotel to play Mafia or something like that. I was collecting players because there was two hotels – one player hotel, one talent hotel. I was just collecting players to play Mafia and we got along really well, like instantly like really just had a good conversation and then kinda just kept in touch. He was really nice to me. Yeah, went from there, help brokered the deal to Liquid which I was just doing as a friend."
How Blitz became the coach of Team Liquid
Around 2015-2016, competitive Dota 2 teams began to recognize the importance of having a coach to reach the top of the scene. Since then, the inclusion of a coach on top-tier rosters has become a staple in professional play.
This shift became particularly relevant when the former Alliance roster joined Team Liquid. Initially, Blitz confessed that he had no plans to coach Team Liquid at the time. However, a pivotal trip to Malta with the players changed his perspective.
"Once we finished the deal, I didn't ask for anything in return but Liquid was like we'll send you over with the guys to the first boot camp you know just to go hang out in Malta. I never been it's a weird place so then after a day or two of hanging out at the beach, I got really bored. There's nothing to do and they were playing DOTA so I wanted to watch DOTA. People are just playing DOTA, it's fun to watch and I just started talking to them. They were like" oh what do you noticed about the games". I don't really know too much about DOTA, I was like – I don't know, I will just bullshit some stuff. I think I was hungover the day they asked for something like that. Then him and Qojqva. They're like "you should join us as coach"."
When the players first approached William about coaching Team Liquid, he initially declined the offer. However, he later opened up about the reasons and shared the story of how he eventually warmed to the idea of stepping into the coaching role.
"I remember the first day– I said no, I don't really want to. Coaching sucks, it's a lot of effort and it's way less pay than casting. Eventually, by day 3, I don't know, it kinda sounded like an okay idea and it sounded kinda fun."
Initially, Blitz only planned to coach for two years
When Blitz first joined Team Liquid, he did so with a set expiration date in mind. He revealed that this decision stemmed from health issues he was facing at the time.
However, as he worked with the team, their camaraderie led him to reconsider. What began as a temporary commitment ultimately turned into something more permanent.
"I told Aiden I would do two years no matter what and that was it. It was done. I said I just can't. Financially, it was a poor decision at the time and also I just felt like and I still feel like this – like coaching slowly kills me a little bit cause I have a lot of health issues because of like stress and I can't do it – it's bad. So I told them you got two years. We better win something in that time. I really just like the guys– it felt like a very unique group. I know we weren't winning shit but I had such a good time with them."
Blitz on The International victory
What was originally intended as a two-year commitment evolved into a much longer journey. In his fifth year with Team Liquid, Blitz finally achieved the pinnacle of success in the Dota 2 professional scene by winning The International. Reflecting on this remarkable journey, the coach shared insights into how the team approached their greatest triumph.
" I think confidence actually peaked pretty high. MiCKe told me before the tournament – my hero pool is perfect, if we don't win this TI, we are never going to win a TI. If a player has that much confidence like that and Neta also was like – I've got six or seven heroes and then Boxi. It just starts to add up nicely. We found good adjustments, Aiden eventually learned how to play Clockwreck which was super clutch. It's perfect like everything kinda lines up nicely. I'm not so arrogant to say we're like the perfect team or something clicked different. The meta hits us perfectly, that's usually how teams win TI. "
After their triumph at The International 2024, Team Liquid underwent a roster shuffle. However, success would soon follow this new iteration of Team Liquid as they recently took home the trophy at 1win Series Dota 2 Fall and placed the runner-up spot at ESL One Bangkok 2024.
Featured Image Source: Valve
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