"I think with the previous iterations of the roster, we were always missing that 5th piece to the puzzle" Team Liquid paTiTek on securing VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 2 Trophy

1 Sep

Foo Zen-Wen

A closely contested and yet ultimately one-sided Grand Finals went the way of Team Liquid last night as they secured their first domestic title of 2025 in the VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 2 Grand Finals against GIANTX. Following a season’s worth of strong performances, the roster finally succeeded in lifting a trophy in their home region – signaling a strong omen for their coming Champions Paris run.

Following their Grand Finals victory, Strafe Esports sat down with an elated Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski of Team Liquid to hear his thoughts on their win, the long journey to Champions Paris, the challenges they overcame over the 2025 season, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

*The following interview has been lightly edited for readability.

Congratulations on your victory today in the Grand Finals! A close series throughout all 3 maps, Team Liquid managed to close it out. Can you take me through your thoughts through the rollercoaster of those scorelines?

paTiTek: I think we were feeling pretty confident going into the game. Seeing what was happening and why the scores were so close vs [GIANTX] was actually because we were kind of hurrying.

Even before the game, our coach and the team were all saying that they were actually the ones that needed to hurry and win the game. We could just chill and let the game come to us and that we didn’t need to do anything.

But I think in some scenarios, we got a bit too confident. We’re lacking in the freestyle department where we weren’t calling proper stuff. The comms were getting cluttered, and we were just hurrying too much you know?

I think that’s why the scores got so close. But at the end of the day, we still managed to be resilient. Not thinking about it and letting it get to our hearts – and just close out every map, you know?

Why do you personally think you guys felt rushed to close out the series?

paTiTek: I think, honestly, it’s because of emotions. People wanting to win. It’s also the Grand Finals, you know. We’ve been there before. We got reversed by Vitality in Kickoff.

I was also in the 2024 Kickoff Grand Finals (under Team Heretics). So, I think emotions; and we got better at controlling them, but I feel like there’s still a lot of room to improve.

As you’ve referenced, you’ve been in 3 domestic finals, including this one now. The two Kickoff Grand Finals (2024 and 2025). Did you personally feel like it was a ‘curse’ of sorts? To not get over that final hump of being in all these finals and finally getting to win one of these.

paTiTek: I think I felt that, but I managed to control it. Learning from all those finals losses, the biggest issue for me was controlling emotions and how I’m reacting inside of the game based on those emotions.

I feel like I got much, much, much better at it. And it also translated to giving confidence to my teammates based on how I talk, how I communicate, and how I plan things inside of the game. So, I think all those finals helped me to finally reach the trophy.

But I would say the biggest learning experience from everything was just being calm. Being calm and just not rushing things.

At this point in your career, having qualified for the last 4 straight Masters events, many would consider you a veteran in competitive VALORANT. However, this qualification is even more special, as it’s your first Champions qualification. How do you personally feel about qualifying for it? Does it mean something special in your head?

paTiTek: I think it is something different. I always watched the tournaments from the side in 2020 to 2023 before I got to play in them with Heretics. And I always watched the Champions tournament as the one I wanted to qualify and play in.

So, I think coming to the tournament and qualifying for Champions is the biggest achievement for me. When I get there, I’m going to get a completely different mindset in terms of, yeah, I’m just going to go all in and I’m going to show to the world that I can play on the international stages, I can perform, and I can win them.

The pressure is certainly on you guys now because you’ve won Playoffs and all eyes are now on you as the 1st seed from EMEA. Does that extra pressure play on you at all?

paTiTek: No, I’m not even thinking about that. I don’t think anyone is thinking about that. We’re just going to go to Champions and just play our game, uphold our fundamentals. Because I think this is the biggest challenge for us. If we uphold our fundamentals, we’re going to basically smash everyone. But to uphold those fundamentals, it’s kind of hard sometimes with stress, with games, with everything...

So, we just need to take care of that. We need to really be focused on it and it’s going to be fine.

Now that you’ve won the domestic title you’ve been chasing, with Liquid looking as immaculate as you have this year, what do you think the team needs to take it to the next level and raise your ceiling further?

paTiTek: I think we just need a break. Recollect our thoughts and just play another tournament. Because I think the missing piece is already in the team and it was trexx.

I think with the previous iterations of the roster, we were always missing that 5th piece to the puzzle. And signing him, I think we finally got that, which the domestic title is proof of. I think now, you can instantly look at Liquid as a contender to win the domestic title. Even for Champions.

I would say that now the missing piece is here, we just have to use it properly.

Speaking of Team Liquid as a whole, what do you think differentiates the team from the rest of the teams in EMEA going to Champions? Moreover, what do you think differentiates the team from the other teams globally going to Champions?

paTiTek: I think it’s our playstyle. Being in your face but also realizing when you can take a step back and play for the win, play by the book. We’re a team that likes to be in your face, likes to be unexpected, unpredictable, and just go for plays.

But we also need to find the middle ground between that and between playing good VALORANT. And I feel we’re getting a good grip on it.

Lastly, I think one of our biggest strengths is our adaptiveness. We have players that can flex a lot of their agents and roles, which really helps with adapting to a meta which is constantly shifting and changing.

Last year when I asked you what the biggest values you thought you brought to any team were, you told me it was 2 things: your stability and your confidence. The stability that you would perform, the confidence in yourself, and that belief that all the little things that make up being a professional actually matter. Do you think that on this Liquid roster now you’re able to utilize your particular strengths to its maximum?

paTiTek: I think I had problems with the previous 2 iterations of the roster, to utilize especially the confidence part. But I feel with this, when trexx came in, I feel like I’m utilizing 100% of myself. Especially in the confidence department where I was lacking.

You could just see the change in the gameplay here in the domestic games. I think I’m also still growing as a player and I’m learning a lot. I believe I’m one of those players that if I’m playing with someone younger or someone smarter, that has a better understanding of macro and understanding of how fights should go, that I can always chip in and say my piece.

But I’m always letting them speak. Taking a lot, taking the most amount of knowledge I can get from them. I think I did that at Heretics. Just soaking up knowledge like a sponge from the Heretics boys. And I’m also doing that here.

But I’m also adding on top of that, my confidence and ability to let them stay composed. Because I am here.

Final question, what have the previous international stage experiences taught you? How would you approach this Champions thanks to those previous experiences? And lastly, what would you tell your teammates (those who haven’t had the benefit of all those international stage experiences)?

paTiTek: I think what I learned from Madrid, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Toronto is that you’re playing on a big stage. You’re playing against opponents that you’ve never faced before.

But does it really matter? You don’t really need to care that much. As long as you show up for your teammates. And especially for yourself, being confident and doing the things you believe are right instead of just looking at the cameras or the crowd or just stressing out that it’s a ‘Masters tournament’ and I need to perform.

I think this is the biggest lesson for myself. Just playing my own game and trusting the coaching staff, trusting my teammates, and especially trusting myself with my ability to perform.

For this Champs, I’m going to do the same as I did in Toronto. Which is completely shift the mindset to focusing on myself, how I come to tournament, and getting that confidence in. Not really caring about who I play or what I’m going to do. Just being myself.

For my teammates, I would tell them not to rush things. Listen to the coaching staff. Listen to the IGL. And listen to the team. Everyone has to give, chip in. Because at the end of the day, we are playing as a team. So, we need to listen to each other. We need to respond to each other in a good manner. So, as long as we’re going to keep doing that – we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be playing good VALORANT.

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Featured Image Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games

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