Team Liquid has become one of the most prominent esports organizations since it began in early 2000. Until now, its strongest footholds were in StarCraft, StarCraft 2, Dota 2, and Hearthstone, leaving many esports fans wondering when, or if, the multi-gaming institution would break into League of Legends. But as Team Liquid owner Victor “Nazgul” Goossens tells it, the organization’s absence from the competitive League of Legends scene wasn’t due to a lack of desire.

“It’s been hard to get into,” Nazgul told Lolesports. The owner admits he somewhat missed the boat getting involved when League esports was originally taking off, but is now excited at the opportunity and feels that it’s better late than never. “I’d rather have been in it from the beginning, but I’d rather be in it now than not at all,” he said.

Goossens is, of course, referring to Tuesday’s announcement that his organization is merging with the squad formerly known as Team Curse. Team Liquid will be retaining the same roster that competed under Team Curse. They’ll also be combining much of the same support staff under the Team Liquid name, including Steve “LiQuiD112” Arhancet as the co-owner of the team.

So how did this union come to be? Goossens was originally interested in recruiting rookie EU LCS darling Unicorns of Love, but that team ultimately chose to “do their own thing.” Soon after, he was approached by Arhancet.

At the same time Goossens was looking to pick up a team, Arhancet was in the midst of separating from Curse. With the 2015 NA LCS season rapidly approaching, Arhancet and Goossens realized that together they could create something that worked. “It actually took some time for me to get used to,” Goossens said. “But it made so much sense.”

In his own words, Goossens explains the merger as, “no ordinary partnership. It’s not Team Liquid becoming the new title sponsors of an LCS team. This is the full-blown merging of two organizations under the Team Liquid banner.”

GETTING ON THE HORSE

As a retired pro player himself, Goossens’ history in the esports industry is a bit different than other team owners. He created his team and empire after successfully competing in professional StarCraft and poker. In his free time, he built TeamLiquid.net as a passion project, in the hopes of delivering high quality, reputable content and discussion for professional StarCraft.

Part of the appeal of Team Liquid was how close it brought pro players to esports fans. In a time without Facebook or Twitter, the best players in the world reached out directly through the site’s forums and voiced their thoughts straight to their audience. “Our site had a small community you could really be a part of,” said Goossens.

Before long, all sorts of esports fans and pro players were flocking to TeamLiquid.net. It soon became the largest StarCraft community site, filled with news, player and community member streams, discussions, strategy guides, a StarCraft wiki, event calendar, and more. Twelve years later, the site continues to flourish.

“Back in the day, when it was the right time to get into League, StarCraft 2 had blown up and everything I knew was StarCraft,” Goossens says, explaining why he and his staff were hesitant to previously venture into League esports. “I didn’t want Team Liquid to be a multi-gaming organization. I didn’t think strategically the same way I do now. Other esports organizations were thinking more professionally, or logically, and our passionate mindset [for StarCraft] made us miss the right timing to get into League. We had a different mindset than the other teams.”

Now that Goossens and Arhancet are on the same page, they’re ready to build the new Team Liquid brand into something special. Alongside its new LCS team, Team Liquid will also raise a NA Challenger Series squad, in addition to continuing support for other popular esports titles.

EMBRACING THE CURSE

Goossens, for one, doesn’t plan on tampering with a good thing. Arhancet will continue managing the League side of the things, while Goossens will maintain StarCraft and Hearthstone. “I’m not going to come in with my own thoughts [on the team],” said Goossens. “It wouldn’t be a good idea.”

The managers have thought of a few good ideas together already, though. For one, there’s now a separate work and home space for the LCS team. “That’s a big deal and I’m really proud of making that happen,” said Goossens. He believes giving the players an extra push to go out and go to work each day will be great for both their physical and mental well-being.

The team will also benefit from a handful of new sponsors. Luckily for the organization, none of the sponsorships between Curse and Liquid overlapped. Team Liquid’s current and existing sponsors now include: Razer, Twitch, NEEDforSEAT, G2A, Alienware, LoL-Class, Nissan, Quest Nutrition, HyperX, and Lootcrate.

Aside from entering the LCS, Team Liquid has also launched Liquid Legends, a League of Legends community site dedicated to bringing players news, live streams, an event calendar, and discussion forums about competitive League. “What we’re trying to do with Liquid Legends is take a similar approach as on Team Liquid: create a place [where players] are part of a community, and deliver quality news coverage,” said Goossens. “Our news coverage does not exist to bring hits that deliver money,” he explained. “That model is hard, and we don’t make much from ads. Our news sets a standard for the site. If the standard is high, it’ll make a community.”

With a new team and fansite at its back, Team Liquid is rearing to make its start in League. “I’m excited to do this honestly,” said Goossens. “It’s a really big deal to me and Steve. We’re looking forward to it, and I look forward to working with the team and the players. We weave well, our sponsors and staff. I’m also just excited to work with Steve. To work with someone at that level, who has strategic insight on how to makes decisions. So far we’re really enjoying working together.”

Charging into League of Legends may have been a long time coming for Goossens, but he is confident in the future of Team Liquid. “We definitely feel the new Team Liquid can be one of the more dominant organizations and teams in the World.” We’ll see!

You can catch Team Liquid in the NA LCS starting January 24. In the meantime, support the team on Liquid Legends, Twitter, Facebook.