In the history of North American League of Legends, Doublelift is perhaps the most famous player, having both a huge fanbase and numerous anti-fans. This guy has it all: talent, titles, a touching backstory, as well as trash talk, boasting, and disdain for opponents… all of which have created a legendary AD Carry in the LCS.
However, no matter the circumstances, it cannot be denied that Doublelift is on the downside of his career, and just last spring, he experienced a terrible drop in performance. Just a few months ago, before the 2019 World Championship, while he couldn’t compare to top AD Carries like Teddy or Uzi at that time, he was still a top Western ADC. Yet this past spring, there were moments when he was benched due to a complete loss of motivation to compete.
Doublelift’s significant decline in performance indicates that it is very difficult for him to compete at the top level as before. However, with such a massive brand and fame, Team Liquid might not want to replace him in the middle of the spring split. Nonetheless, summer is a completely different story; many credible sources reveal that Team Liquid has placed Doublelift’s contract in a trade or sale status.
One of the issues in the LCS is the severe lack of young talent; over the past two years, there has been no new name strong enough to rise up. The inevitable result is that veterans like Doublelift, despite having played for nearly 10 years, still have to continue to struggle to compete. When they can no longer keep up, the consequences will be like Team Liquid this spring, sitting at the bottom of the standings while they were the champions last season.
With Team Liquid’s move to sell Doublelift, it is highly likely that the organization will promote young talent Tactical to the main lineup, which is a positive sign for both the team and the LCS to improve. As for Doublelift, the reality is that he is indeed getting older, and finding a safe landing spot to retire and become a streamer might be the most sensible move for “2lift” at this point.
