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Insania: "We're a little lost if I'm being honest"
At PGL Wallachia Season 3, Team Liquid's captain and latest International winner Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi sat down for a frank interview. During the discussion, he shared the trials his team is going through, their adjustment in the latest tournament, and what he enjoys about the latest Dota 2 patch.
Since the beginning of the 2025 Dota 2 series, Team Liquid hasn't maintained the same success as the previous season, with top eight placements in their last three major tournaments.
Insania: "I think this is the lowest we have felt since Matu and Zai joined the first time."
Team Liquid won The International in 2024, but since then, the team has been through a slump. Losing Neta "33" Shapira was a tough blow for a squad, and his replacement, hasn't had the same impact in the offlane role.
When asked how the team is coping right now, Insania was blunt that his team isn't doing so well right now, "I think this is the lowest we have felt since Matu and Zai joined the first time. So like I would say in terms of our results and how we feel like we're playing it's probably the worst since like three years or something. Which in many ways is the result of not being able to figure stuff out. Because I think before, whenever we put an effort, we've managed to get the ship back on track again but this year we haven't really been able to do it. So I think internally in our team, we're a little lost if I'm being honest."
It's not all doom and gloom. Despite the struggles, Insania maintains that the team is still trying to be positive. However, that's a tough task when things aren't going so well.
"There are enjoyable parts, I think anyone that is a player that's watching this interview knows what it's like when things aren't going well, trying to keep a positive attitude is the hardest and the most important. Because when you're winning and things are going well, it's easier to be critical of each other, it's a lot easier to take that. When you're losing and you're being very critical of each other, it quickly ads up and it's hard to stay positive in that environment but you also need it the most when you are doing the worst."
Insania: "We are actually going to have Nisha draft for this event."
All the setbacks Team Liquid have gone through have forced them to make some changes. In PGL Wallachia, they have decided to have their midlaner, Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, take the lead on drafting.
It's a new experience for Nisha, and a big adjustment for the lineup, "We are actually going to have Nisha draft for this event. It's going to be first time ever. Micke is taking a little bit of a break and Nisha is going to do it. Which is the biggest new thing for this one. Nisha has a very different approach. He has some ideas of what he wants to do and he cares a little bit less what everybody else thinks."
The experiment is working so far. Team Liquid has won both matches at PGL Wallachia Season 3. Time will tell if their success continues but it's a good start for the team.
Another big change impacting all teams is the new gameplay update. With new water paths, hero rebalances, a new neutral item system. Dota 2 got a major revamp in patch 7.38.
When asked what he liked about the new update, Insania responded with a rather unique take.
"My favorite is how fast you are on rivers. In general, moving fast is the most fun thing ever. Being able to just run through the rivers really quickly, especially when someone is trying to chase you down, and they can't hit you because you're very fast, I found that part very fun."
It's not all fun and rivers though. Some of the new changes have forced teams to adapt drastically to the new map. Among the biggest is the new Tormentor system. Only one spawns now and it comes five minutes earlier than before.
This new spawn time is a bit too early for some teams, Liquid included, "The Tormentor thing is at 15 minutes now, instead of 20. The game forces you to compete a bit earlier. When you're playing, it feels like the game starts and then you have to go tormentor. I feel like it's a little bit too early, it's like the game is forcing you to play according to certain timings too fast."
It's been a big change for us all. It will be interesting to see how Liquid fares this tournament, with a new patch and leadership going forward.
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Featured Image Source: Team Liquid
