Kurev talks joining Liquid, fans support and APAC’s mechanics

Team Liquid have been inspired since the arrival of South American's standout star, Kurev. There was a huge gap in the Team Liquid roster, with YanYa departing for Loan Sharks (now Envy), ending a partnership with Jaguares and Neazul that stretched all the way back to September 2022.

Now, after winning the Americas region of the BLGS and thriving in the new meta, they head to Sapporo, Japan as a dark horse. While attention is always on the likes of Team Falcons, Alliance, FNATIC and others, could Team Liquid repeat their BLGS success on the international stage?

esports.gg spoke to Kurev from the Team Liquid bootcamp in Japan before the event. You can watch the full interview below.

One of the standout elements of Kurev's time on Team Liquid has been the initial struggle to find everyone their best role. As he explains, his was initially signed to be the IGL, however the team has evolved in a different direction. Kurev explains the teams thinking behind the roles they have now settled on.

"So first I came into the team as the new third basically and they picked me because I'm one of the best from South America and they speak the Spanish language. So they tried first with me, IGLing, but after quite some time we see that we weren't performing. I talked to the coach and said, okay, this is not going well. Maybe we can try the approach from me adapting to the already established duo instead of me trying to come and just change everything around.

"The second thing was I didn't know the region quite well. So I didn't know what was the playstyle for the tournaments, the finals of the tournaments, and scrim lobbies. So I think that was two of the main problems. That's behind the decision of trying to swap out Jaguares to IGL."

Kurev adds that Jaguares has helped bring a real calmness to end games. With the current chaotic meta, that is a skill worth even more than usual.

Kurev points out just how much the playstyle between regions can differ in Apex Legends. What are the things that help you work out what region you are fighting against?

"For sure you can notice!  When a guy starts moving around like crazy, you know it's like APAC or some s**t like that, you know? It is so crazy. Those guys are cracked mechanically!

"I think the main characteristics from each region is like APAC, like they're crazy good mechanics. Like they're the best mechanics in the world by far. They're so good! Europe is I think the most aggressive region too, they're really, really aggressive. There could be three teams in a building and they're going to push your s**t every single time, it's crazy.

"Of course, North America, shoots 'nukes' straight up. They shoot nukes and make really good decisions. So I feel like you notice when you're playing against a team from each region. Plus there's quite some time playing scrims and stuff. You start noticing patterns and how everyone is placed about the map. So you can get a sense of your surroundings, basically."

Joining Team Liquid was a big step up for Kurev. Besides a small absence, Team Liquid have been consistently successful in the ALGS, with some incredibly strong teams over the year. The organisation is incredibly prestigious, with top notch facilities and a huge fanbase.

"Joining Team Liquid is nothing else that I have ever experienced before. Being in a [tier one] organization, it really shows the quality of people that you have in it. Not only the economic side, of course, that helps a lot - they give you free stuff! That's awesome! But the quality of people in the organization is insane. Everyone's so good around you.

"If you need literally anything you could just ask and they will help you out. If you have any single problem, you can tell them and they will try and fix it. It's insane. It helped me improve a lot. Not only on playing, but on the mental side, it's really important on a professional player and they helped quite a lot. They're insane. I love them!"

Of course, a bigger organization and all the benefits that come with that also brings pressure. Investment and support means success is expected, and that is also a position Kurev hasn't been in before.

"The pressure from the fans is on. The first couple of weeks of BLGS, I could feel like, okay, we're doing bad and our fans are depending on us. They're gonna be sad if we do bad. So, of course, the pressure from the fans is there. You know that you gotta perform, so everyone's happy.

"But after quite few weeks of playing scrims and doing well, I feel like that pressure is not there anymore. Of course, you have that in mind, that, I got to play to win, because if not, the fans are not going to be happy. And plus, the fans are being crazy. Everyone's getting whatever content we do, they're always there.

"The other day, I was crossing in Japan, and everyone knows us! If you have the Team Liquid logo, you're a pro player right. That's the most crazy feeling that you could get from people around the world."

There is a lot of discussion about fans in traditional sports and the impact they have. However, what sort of a difference does it make in esports? Kurev feels his game is being improved by the Team Liquid supporters.

"Imagine you don't have the passion enough to play. You don't feel like playing. You want to just go out with your friends and do stuff. Just turning on the stream always and seeing so many people come from Team Liquid is one of the huge boosters on your career. Because normally it gives you motivation, but it gives you a reason to turn on the stream because they're always going to be there.

"It's so beneficial to your mental to have so many supporters talk to you in chat, ask you questions, always pretty much be there in your chat ready to when you're turning on the stream. They're going to be there. That's that was one of the huge things about having so many fans from their organization, it helps you so much."

Kurev's move to Team Liquid wasn't just significant for him. It was a breakout moment for South America, who have struggled in the ALGS since the removal of their Pro League. Several of their top players relocated to EMEA or North America to compete, but until Kurev, have struggled to break into established teams.

As the leading South American in the ALGS at the moment, what does that mean to Kurev?

"It feels like good that you know that you're one of the top ones from the region. But it's also kind of sad because I know a lot from players from SA (South America) that they're absolutely cracked, even better than me mechanically or mentally or whatever.

"They just didn't get the chance to prove themselves in the region just because of the downsides of playing there. Every single time you want to play a scrim or a tournament you just have 200 ping, or you don't get the right teammates because there's not enough people in the region to team with.

"So I feel like that's one of the downsides for sure. But also knowing that you are the big opportunity to show difference from the region in a big tournament is a huge boost to also to just keep on grinding and putting in the effort that you need to just basically win."

Stay tuned to esports.gg for full coverage of the ALGS Championship in Sapporo, Japan and all things Apex Legends.