Team Liquid at the Shanghai Major. They went on to place 2nd after defeat to Team SecretThe birth of Team Liquid
While Team Secret was full of very explosive characters who were all already well established on the scene Kuroky instead formed his own team 5Jungz with real life friend and fellow German FATA-, and filled the rest of their roster with overlooked talent.
Kuroky's goal was to share his knowledge and experience with a new generation of players, and word on the street was that several players tried out for the new team including Black^, but Kuroky instead placed his faith in Matumbaman and Jerax.
The two Finnish players had impressed in the team 4ASC half a year before in DreamLeague, but outside of that had not achieved any notable results. Kuroky also plucked a player from obscurity to fill the offlane, a Bulgarian called Mind_Control who had attracted attention from European players for his performances in the FaceIT Pro League which resulted in him being a very reliable merc.
It looked like a step down for Kuroky after being on Team Secret but his eye for talent and ability to share his knowledge with his new team-mates has played a massive role in their development.
Kuroky has led Team Liquid to the Shanghai and the Manila Major Grand Finals as well as to two EPICENTER victories. The team-mates he had chosen became household names. Matumbaman became one of Europe's best carries and Jerax went on to become a world-class support player.
5Jungz rise through the ranks in Europe coincided with that of Monkey Business', a team who would later become OG. Kuroky was able to take a group of relatively inexperienced players - with the exception of FATA- - and have them challenging for a Majors title in less than half a year.
In Liquid's second season together Liquid replaced FATA- with the incredibly gifted Miracle, which says a lot for Kuroky that the best mechanical player in the world chose his team over any others.
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