The issues with 1w and Liquid, as well as the “322” scandal involving DarkMago—highlights from the ALL CHAT podcast with Insania and Quinn

Analysts and former pro players Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi and Quinn “Quinn” Callahan discussed Team Liquid and 1w Team’s issues, as well as PlayTime’s disqualification from the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup due to match-fixing allegations, on the ALL CHAT podcast. Read the highlights in our article.

Insania acknowledged that there were already problems within the team back when SabeRLight was on the roster, but at that time they tried to work around them; with the current lineup, however, Team Liquid is unable to unlock the players’ potential, and nothing is clicking. He expressed confidence that the roster will change next year because things are simply looking bad. According to Insania, the team’s offlaner isn’t performing well, and the supports should switch roles. Quinn, for his part, described Ace as a player ill-suited for comebacks when behind: he’s a good esports player when he farms a lot, but the current meta makes a difficult lane unbearable for him. Aydin also called Liquid’s performance at EWC 2026 not just a disappointment, but a disgrace, and added that if the team makes it into the top 6 at The International 2026, he’d already consider that a decent result—even though he’d never thought of Liquid in those terms before.

Quinn noted that the team began to struggle after winning ESL One Birmingham 2026, despite their high individual skill levels. Insania explained the situation by citing a difficult period for 33: many of his signature heroes had been nerfed, and laning had become more challenging. The 1w Team captain will always try to play in his usual style—this makes him a great esports player, but in tough times, it limits the team’s potential, forcing his teammates to go above and beyond.

Aydin called what happened unacceptable and suggested that the player, upon learning of his kick after the tournament, decided to cash in on his last chance. He called this approach pathetic and expressed hope that those responsible would be banned everywhere. Quinn was surprised by DarkMago’s decision: according to his information, the amount received was insignificant—roughly a month’s salary—and a lifetime ban makes it a financially pointless and foolish move. He also emphasized the betrayal of Scofield, with whom the mid laner had played for years on various teams. Insania added that the Peruvian had long been the most prominent mid-laner in his region and had inspired many, but now his legacy would be defined by this incident. He urged professionals not to do anything like this, to remember their pride, and to keep in mind that the impression they leave behind after retirement matters immensely.

Speaking about the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 Grand Final, Quinn criticized gpk’s play on Earth Spirit: according to his observations, gpk constantly used Magnetize on heroes with debuff removal, which caused the ultimate to fail and not spread. Quinn noted that Cr1t- was stunned by what he saw, and concluded that Earth Spirit is definitely not a hero for BetBoom Team’s midlaner. Insania pointed out that in Dota 2, a gameplay style that works against 90% of teams can look terrible when facing an opponent of equal skill level, and, in his opinion, that’s exactly what happened.

Earlier, Team Spirit manager Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov commented on his club’s performance at the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2: “Our gameplay has definitely improved overall. I tend to judge more by the amount of work put in, the results of practice matches, and so on. But the result is what it is—not the best.”

Photo by Henry Knock, Team Liquid.