Team Liquid has claimed a world-first in Aberrus, The Shadowed Crucible, ending a heartbreaking streak of losses to Echo.
The Scalecommander is defeated, the Dracthyr humbled, and Team Liquid is back on top in the World of Warcraft Race for World First (RWF), downing Sarkareth after 114 pulls and a nearly week-long race.
The win gives Team Liquid Guild its first win under the banner, having fallen short to arch-rivals Echo in the past three years of raids. Formerly Complexity Limit, the guild’s last world-first was Castle Nathria in Shadowlands. However, in both Sanctum of Domination and the Sepulchre of the First Ones, Echo claimed victory, causing Team Liquid to slip in the rankings.
Heart-breakingly, in Sepulchre of the First Ones, the last Shadowlands raid, Team Liquid was forced to tap out after over 20 days of raiding. For the first raid of Dragonflight, Liquid would have similarly disastrous luck, claiming world-first on the third to seventh bosses of Vault of the Incarnates, before losing out to Echo at the final hurdle.
Team Liquid finally back on top of the RWF
After two devastating defeats in a row, this almost had to be Liquid’s win. Scalecommander Sarkareth’s punishing mechanics pushed both top racing guilds, Echo and TL, to the limit. And on Sunday, it looked like Echo might take the win, having pushed Sarkareth to below 20% health.
But with the final moments of the race within view, Team Liquid was able to push into the early evening and take the kill after 114 attempts. It is their first RWF win since 2020.
The RWF is an unofficial race to defeat WoW’s hardest raid difficulty, Mythic, upon release. With a history spanning back to 2005, the race is in many ways the marathon or Tour de France of esports: A grand spectacle that pits highly coordinated teams of expert competitors against some of the hardest challenges. Liquid’s win once again cements a guild with a history of excellence, dating back to Warlords of Draenor, as the best raiders in the world.