"I was always inspired by Alem4o (in-game)": Volpz talks about his first stage with Liquid

_{Banner image: Ubisoft / @robincerutti}

After reaching the Six Jönköping Major grand finals, Team Liquid fell against Team BDS in a thrilling five-map series. One week later, the blue cavalry defeated w7m esports as the players were crowned Brazilian champions for the second year in a row -- and the third in the last four seasons.

Heading to the Six Invitational 2023 as Brazil's best team and Six Major finalists, Team Liquid ate crow in Montreal, Canada. A fourth place in the group stage was followed by a 1-2 loss in the team's first match in the loser's bracket, precisely against Team BDS. Undoubtedly, a humble experience for the blue cavalry, whose eyes were put on the hammer. It will have to wait, minimum, one more year.

Following Team Liquid's disappointing showing at the Six Invitational 2023, decisions had to be made. After all, it was the blue cavalry's worst result since the Six Invitational 2020, where the team couldn't survive to the group stage.

Liquid only made one change to the starting lineup as Gabriel "AsK" Santos, who joined the roster in Sep. 2021, parted ways with the team. Meanwhile, Marcelo "mcunha" Cunha retired from the Siege scene and left his staff duties.

Despite being a rookie, Gabriel "Volpz" Fernandes was one of the best players of Year 7 as he was crucial for w7m esports. He quickly emerged as one of Brazil's new superstars as he reached the semi-finals of the Six Berlin Major and the Six Jönköping Major, just before playing in the grand finals of the Brasileirão and the Six Invitational 2023.

After playing 120 maps, Volpz averaged a SiegeGG rating of 1.11. His performances in his first professional year put him in the scope of the best teams in the region, with Team Liquid eventually knocking on the door.

"I received many offers, but I chose Team Liquid because I wanted to play with Lagonis," Volpz revealed in an interview with SiegeGG. 

Apparently, Volpz joined Team Liquid to recreate Team oNe's 2021 duo of Lorenzo "Lagonis" Volpi and Karl "Alem4o" Zarth, who Volpz always looked up to. "I was always inspired by Alem4o (in-game)," he mentioned with a smile. "As they were a great pair, I thought it wouldn't be different for me, and maybe we win a major together too!"

On paper, Volpz's comparison isn't crazy talk. In his last four months with w7m esports, Volpz mainly played Sledge on attack and Smoke on defense, with 37 and 53 rounds each. Alem4o's role for Team oNe was similar, with Twitch and Smoke being his favorite operators with 168 and 321 rounds played each.

Other operators that link Volpz's playstyle to Alem4o are Zofia, Lion, Dokkaebi, and Ying on attack, and Mute, Melusi, and Wamai on defense. Certainly, the former w7m esports player brings back some memories from the past.

Now, under a massive organization like Team Liquid, the pressure may be a bit higher -- but not for Volpz. "In my vision, w7m esports is not small anymore, I have no problems with pressure, it's the same for me."

According to Volpz, the start with the team "was difficult", but he ended up fully adapting to the team. "Lagonis and Hugzord helped me and made it easy for me."

Precisely, the Brazilian revealed that both Lagonis and Hugzord constantly work on the "analytics role" and that he "trust them a lot".

An example of their job can be seen in Liquid's operator bans, showing the team's polyvalence. Out of 16 operators banned during the first Brazil League stage, Liquid have banned 13 different names -- only repeating Smoke and Mute.

With Volpz's fully adapted to the team, the player admitted to having slightly changed his playstyle, as the team needed him to be in a more aggressive position. This can be noticed in his entry frags, as he ended the first stage with 20 entry kills and 15 open deaths in just eight maps. He's now the main entry on the team, which didn't happen under w7m esports.

"My role now is making aggressive plays, and I always liked doing that," Volpz admitted.

Volpz's first Brazil League stage for Team Liquid was no less than what both fans and players expected from the 19-year-old, as he was the eighth-best player in the league standings with a SiegeGG rating of 1.16 -- just between the legendary Liquid duo of Luccas "Paluh" Molina and André "NESKWGA" Oliveira, who got ratings of 1.19 and 1.14, respectively.

"Against Ninjas in Pyjamas, my first match with the boys, it was an excellent start for me and I am very happy to support these guys, you know, we have Paluh and Nesk, is not easy to be MVP!"

In his debut for Team Liquid against Ninjas in Pyjamas, Volpz was the best player on the blue cavalry with a SiegeGG rating of 1.49 and an entry balance of 4-2 (+2) while maining Twitch and Valkyrie.

Statistically, his best performance so far came against Magic Squad in Team Liquid's last group-stage match. Volpz was the MVP of the game with a SiegeGG rating of 1.63, a KD of 14-5 (+9), and an entry balance of 4-1 (+3).

Moreover, Volpz's only performance with a SiegeGG rating below 1.00 was at the Brazil League 2023 Stage 1 grand finals, where Team Liquid lost to FaZe Clan by 0-2. Then, NESKWGA was the only player with positive figures, while Volpz finished with a rating of 0.90.

"I notice the hype (against FaZe Clan), in Brazil we call it 'El Clásico', the energy is so good before and during the match," Volpz explained.

However, Team Liquid are yet to win a match against FaZe Clan this season, as they lost on the group stage (7-8) and the grand final (0-2). "As I only lost I still didn't feel a good feeling after the match against them."

Team Liquid's first appearance at the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen should be on Apr. 29 as the Brazilians will start from Phase 2 after finishing in the top two of the Brazil League 2023 Stage 1.