Blitz: “If you have a weak team, you’re constantly watching what others are doing.”
Team Liquid coach William “Blitz” Lee spoke with Jan “Gorgc” Stefanowski in an interview about the outcome of the 1win Essence II Grand Final and shared his expectations for The International 2026.
On Team Liquid
We’re always underrated. That’s the secret. If you always play poorly, no one will expect anything from you. We could have lost the series—it was close—but people will see the 3-0 score and jump to the wrong conclusion. They’ll think, “Oh, they crushed them.”
On trash talk
It’s not serious; it’s just that miCKe and Ammar [ATF] get along really well. And when it happened with SaberLight last year, it was real because he isn’t that close to them. But this time, it’s all in good fun. Back then, there was a bit of tension between us.
On the 1win Essence II Grand Final
I think everyone on our team played really well; the offlaner did exceptionally well. I suppose people will mostly judge us based on the first game, but I don’t even know. We picked Timbersaw as our first pick, which isn’t the easiest thing to do. They’ll pick three heroes to counter him.
On expectations for The International 2026
I think the crowd will go wild. I get the feeling that if we play against Vici, or XG, or someone like that, the atmosphere there will be really intense. It’s been seven years since I was in China, and I feel like COVID has affected the Chinese scene, because we used to go there for LAN tournaments all the time. And I’m really looking forward to seeing a strong performance from a Chinese team—that would be good for the scene as a whole. I hope the fans show up and all that; I know the tickets are already sold out.
On what changed between the upper bracket final and the grand final
I’d say the main thing is that sometimes you really need to understand this team well—you have to be confident in your own ideas. And I guess we were thinking more about our opponent than about what we could do ourselves. When you’re constantly thinking about what others might do, instead of thinking about what you can do, you’re always at a disadvantage, in my opinion.
When you have a good team—take PARIVISION, for example—I think they don’t care what others are saying. The guys just do their thing and are happy when they get their heroes. If you have a weak team, you’re constantly watching what others are doing.
So we decided we needed to focus on our own game. But this series wasn’t even that one-sided—it was a deceptive 3-0; we really could have lost. People who didn’t watch the series will probably laugh at them, but it really was a very close match.
Team Liquid became the champion of 1win Essence II, defeating Team Falcons 3-0 in the final match. First place comes with a $100,000 prize. Next, both teams will compete at The International 2026—the tournament of the year begins on August 13.
