Team Liquid suffered yet another setback — the team was eliminated from the open qualifier for BLAST Open London 2025 after losing in the quarterfinals to Virtus.pro’s academy roster. The defeat to VP.Prodigy, ranked 83rd in the HLTV standings, marks another painful chapter in Liquid’s string of failures in 2025.
Liquid’s struggles
Team Liquid is experiencing one of the worst seasons in its history. The team has failed to deliver consistent results since the beginning of 2025. At the BLAST.tv Austin Major in June, they couldn’t make it past the Elimination Stage, finishing 15–16th. They later failed to qualify for ESL Pro League Season 22, losing to Sashi.
Things didn’t go any better at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2025, which is running from July 23 to August 3: Liquid once again failed to overcome the early stage of the tournament, finishing 13–16th. Despite changes in the roster and coaching staff, results are lacking — the team has lost its status as a top-tier contender.
BLAST Open London 2025 qualifiers
A new blow for Liquid fans came in the quarterfinals of the open qualifier for BLAST Open London 2025. The team lost a BO3 match against VP.Prodigy — Virtus.pro’s academy team, currently ranked only 83rd in the HLTV world rankings.
On the first map, Dust2, the Russians dominated from the very first rounds and secured a 13:7 win. Liquid answered back on Mirage — they convincingly won the first half 10:2 and closed the game without issues, 13:2. However, the decisive map Nuke was a tight battle: both halves ended in a 6:6 tie, and only in overtime did VP.Prodigy manage to edge out their more experienced opponents — 16:14.
The stars of the match were the young guns of VP.Prodigy, especially b1st, who finished the series with 55 kills and a 1.34 rating. Despite NAF posting the highest ADR of the match (90.3), it wasn’t enough to carry Liquid to victory.
What’s wrong with Liquid?
Losing to the academy roster of Virtus.pro isn’t just a shock — it’s a clear reflection of Liquid’s ongoing crisis. Once a top-3 team in the world, a title contender, and a Major finalist, Liquid now struggles to even qualify for major events, losing to tier-two and tier-three teams.
The reasons behind the decline are many: chronic roster instability, poor transfer decisions, and the lack of a clear playstyle. There’s also a leadership issue — both in and out of the game, there’s no figure who can rally the team during tough moments. If things don’t change soon, Liquid risks losing its competitive relevance entirely.
