Following a 2-3 elimination from ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1, Liquid have registered for two upcoming LAN events — Roman Imperium Cup VI and DraculaN Season 6 — in an effort to salvage their campaign to qualify for the IEM Cologne Major.
According to the public sign-up sheets, the organization has not yet completed payment or formally confirmed attendance at either event, but Liquid are nevertheless listed as the final attending team on DraculaN's site.
The mere act of registering highlights how precarious Liquid's position has become. The Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek-led lineup saw its probability of reaching the Major fall to just 13% after their elimination from EPL at the hands of 3DMAX, a figure reported by the analyst Mischief and based on the assumption that Liquid would feature at BLAST Open Rotterdam and WINAMAX — a €15,000 LAN in France that would likely not yield sufficient VRS points unless several notable teams also commit to attend.
Mischief's projection shows a significant swing in fortune if Liquid actually participate in both Roman Imperium Cup VI and DraculaN Season 6: their chances of making the Major would rise to roughly 35% under that scenario, according to his calculations.
Roman Imperium Cup VI is scheduled for March 12–15, while DraculaN Season 6 is set to run from March 29 to April 2; both events present opportunities for teams to gather VRS points and regain momentum ahead of larger qualifiers.
Among the more notable entrants listed for Roman Imperium Cup VI are BC.Game, Alliance, 9INE, EYEBALLERS, BESTIA, Gaimin Gladiators, OG, Rebels and Liquid.
The roster of prominent teams signed up for DraculaN Season 6 includes FUT, fnatic, Passion UA, Monte, ENCE, BESTIA, 9INE, Alliance and Liquid.
With attendance and payment still pending, Liquid's registrations are best understood as a contingency plan: competing and performing well at these smaller LANs could materially improve their VRS standing and revive their hopes of booking a spot at the IEM Cologne Major.