Doublelift explains why Broxah will shine where other LCS imports failed
Team Liquid superstar Yilliang ‘Doublelift’ Peng has backed his new jungler Mads ‘Broxah’ Brock-Pedersen to shine in the LCS, and says the Danish star won’t struggle to adapt to North America like other “washed up” European imports.
NA’s Championship Series has built an unfortunate reputation among the fanbase for importing players who are “just looking for a paycheck” after failing to cut it in Europe and Korea, even going so far as to ignore domestic talent for them.
With the LCS community up in arms over recently offseason moves like Dignitas’ hefty $2.6 million contract for Heo ‘Huni’ Seung-hoon, which has allegedly left them unable to sign other players, and Pobelter and Damonte missing roster spots, it’s no surprise some took TL’s jungle signing as a similar move.
Not everyone in NA is sold with Broxah’s big-money Team Liquid switch.Fans have raised question marks over the four-time championship org’s decision to dump Jake ‘Xmithie’ Puchero for Broxah, even comparing it to Team SoloMid’s much-mocked decision to shunt proven talent Doublelift for EU LCS star Jesper ‘Zven’ Svenningsen, which ended with the ADC leaving to Cloud9 this month.
Doublelift has assured fans that he doesn’t think Broxah’s North American move will go the same way as stories like Bora ‘Yellowstar’ Kim, Alfonso ‘Mithy’ Rodríguez, or Fabian ‘Febiven’ Diepstraten, all of whom failed to make their mark on the scene.
According to the LCS superstar, his new jungler has already proven that he’s more than up to the task, and Peng explained during his November 26 blog that he had already been “blown away” by Broxah’s maturity and drive to succeed.
“I’m pretty excited to play with this guy, he’s a f*cking tank and he’s so mature for 22,” Doublelift said. “I’m going to tell you guys, I was and am still pretty dumb, at that age and now, but this guy just seems so well put together and mature.”
Doublelift said he was impressed with Broxah’s shining Worlds record.The TL bot laner pointed to Broxah’s international experience, which includes two miracle runs at the World Championship in group stage, and a runners-up medal in 2018, as well as his two European titles, as proof of his stardom.
Beyond that, Doublelift added that he believes Broxah may be the missing piece of Liquid’s oft-shattered international puzzle, which has seen the squad achieve just once — their 2019 MSI campaign when they lost 3-0 to G2 Esports in the final — and fallen short across two years despite being the best domestic team.
Liquid have struggled to translate their LCS domination to the international stage.Not only could his “incredible mechanics” and “tons of potential” play a key role in keeping TL on top in North America, Doublelift said, he also believes Broxah isn’t coming to the LCS just looking for a paycheck like many have feared.
“The thing that I always don’t want is to play with a guy who’s checked out, and has come to NA for the paycheck,” he added, before showing a graphic that included players like Huni, Tristan ‘PowerofEvil’ Schrage, and Bae ‘Bang’ Jun-sik.
“I think, without going too much into it, it’s quite common for people to come to NA and use it as a way for them to make a ton of money before they retire.”
“I know Broxah is not doing that, he came here because he wants to compete, and he’s super driven to find success. If I felt like I was playing with players who didn’t have that competitive mindset alongside me, it wouldn’t sit well with me, I don’t even know if I’d be able to turn up to practice it would be so frustrating.”
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Now, Doublelift’s eyes turn towards Liquid’s third consecutive title defence in LCS 2020 Spring, which is set to begin in January. He turned down his All-Stars invite earlier this week, and has his mind fixed firmly on competitive play.
And as TL settle into their preseason preparations, before scrims kick-off properly in the New Year, Doublelift asked his fans to welcome Broxah into the fold, and celebrate the fact he was pulling on the blue and white of Team Liquid.
“I hope you guys show Broxah a lot of support, I know for some reason he seems to have a lot of haters, and I don’t understand why,” Peng said, “because I think he’s really likeable. Different fan bases just like different things, I guess.”