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Honda’s Exit: What It Means for Team Liquid’s Dota 2 Future
Recently, a tweet has sparked major controversy involving Team Liquid. A Rainbow Six Siege player posted after losing a match against a Japanese team, and the aftermath resulted in the termination of the partnership between Honda's American branch and Team Liquid.
This is a significant financial loss that is expected to impact Team Liquid across all divisions —including Dota 2. With Team Liquid being one of the direct invites to this year's The International and the defending champions, the situation has become considerably more complicated.
A Financial Debacle
If you’re not up to date on the situation, we have an excellent article covering the tweet, the player, and the termination of the partnership. From this point on, we’ll assume you're familiar with the details.
First, there’s the estimated $3–6 million per year that will now be off the table. This amount could support multiple other esports divisions — but Dota 2 is a different beast entirely. According to hawk.live, Team Liquid co-founder Victor Goossens estimated that top-tier Dota 2 players earn between $100,000 and $200,000 annually.
Assuming Liquid’s roster of TI champions is earning at the higher end — $200,000 per player — that’s around $1 million a year. Even at the lowest estimate of the lost sponsorship, that’s the equivalent of three years of salaries gone in a single day.
The blow is even harder when you consider the prize money from The International 2024. Team Liquid earned $1,249,445 for first place — a figure significantly lower than previous years. While that might cover a year’s worth of player salaries, it doesn’t account for staff, infrastructure, operating costs, and more.
This is a serious setback that could affect not just Liquid’s upcoming TI run, but also their long-term prospects across all departments. Now, let’s take a closer look at how the Dota 2 roster is holding up and their position in the pro scene.
Team Liquid's 2025 Season
Despite lifting the Aegis of Champions, the path since then has been anything but smooth. Team Liquid hasn’t won a single Tier 1 tournament since TI in 2024, until they joined both Wallachia tournaments.
The Dota 2 scene is fiercely competitive this year, with many TI hopefuls taking home trophies. Amid this landscape, Liquid has only managed two major wins so far — PGL Wallachia Season 3 and its subsequent Season 4 title defense.
As the standings show, Liquid has mostly hovered around the Top 8 in 2025. This doesn't instill much confidence. The International is notoriously competitive, and this year, the field is packed with legitimate title contenders.
The International 2025 and the Esports World Cup
On top of defending their TI title, Team Liquid is also vying to become the first three-time champion alongside Team Spirit. While Spirit opted out of DreamLeague Season 26 to focus on the Esports World Cup (EWC) and possibly TI, Liquid is juggling both commitments — earning a spot in DreamLeague and competing under considerable pressure.
As things stand, Liquid is facing multiple stress points. They need to avoid burnout before the two biggest tournaments of the year. miCKe’s situation is unclear for now, and the loss of the Honda partnership adds further strain.
Team Liquid still has a shot at overtaking one of the teams ahead on the ESL Pro Tour leaderboard, which would grant them a direct invite to the EWC. However, their performance in DreamLeague Season 26 has been lackluster so far.
Liquid has won only one out of four matches so far. If they don’t turn things around in the next day and a half, they risk missing out on a direct EWC invite. That would force them to go through qualifiers — an added challenge they really don’t need right now.
If you want to stay updated on Team Liquid’s journey and find out whether this drama becomes part of a legendary comeback story, follow our ongoing coverage on the Strafe website's news page!
Featured Image Source: GosuGamers