Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng found out Team SoloMid was first exploring different options at the AD carry role on Reddit. Not too long after, Doublelift was replaced on a roster with which he had gone to two World Championships and had just captured yet another North American LCS title. TSM decided to sign superstar European bottom lane Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen and Alfonso "mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez from G2 Esports, and there was no longer room for Doublelift.
With various options open to him, Doublelift decided to sign with a team he had once gone on loan to last year, Team Liquid, this time turning in his mercenary clothing for a three-year contract with the franchise to build a new future with a team that has never made it to a single NA LCS final in its long history.
He wanted to destroy TSM on opening day, and he did just that. Doublelift along with new support partner Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung got the first laugh of the year, dispatching TSM in a one-sided blowout that began on the bottom side of the map. In his first weekend as a full-fledged Liquid member, Doublelift didn't die once, starring in TL's perfect weekend to begin what could be the season that ends the half-decade finals drought.
Exacting revenge on TSM was nice, but for Doublelift, there was something even better than embarrassing the team that walked away from him.
"For me, after that win, what made me feel the best was the [fans] and the support," Doublelift said. "There were a lot of people that wanted me to win and I made them happy, and that just amplifies how happy I am about the win. Afterwards, just reading social media and feeling vindicated, that was just the most fun part. Just seeing [people go] like, 'Wow! I've been a TL fan for five years and a Doublelift fan for five years, and this is the first time in a long time I've felt really good about something.'"
When Team Liquid announced it would be taking its roster to South Korea for a preseason boot camp, the expectation from fans was for the team to train against LCK teams, practice on solo queue, and get ready for the season in a technical sense. That wasn't the case according to Doublelift. In fact, the trip was more about bonding than anything.
On the trip, the team got to know one another on a more personal level, and by the time the team arrived back in America for the start of the NA LCS season, the starting five had become close friends. When Doublelift took on TSM in the opening game, the rest of his teammates didn't want to just defeat the reigning three-time champion for a standing or personal glory, but to back up their teammate who felt slighted in the offseason.
"When practice [for NA LCS] did start it felt like we were all in it for the long run, we're all friends, we have the same goal and we aligned our values, so our practice went super well," Doublelift said. "This victory [over TSM] is just a result of that."
One player on Liquid, Doublelift's bot-lane partner Olleh, was already keen to play with the veteran American AD carry before the retreat in South Korea.
"I wanted to play with [Doublelift] because I saw his play on the stage," Olleh said. "I thought if I'm there [with him] I could help him be f---ing clean, so I just wanted to play with him. I didn't know it was going to happen. I thought he would stay with TSM forever and just be my enemy every time. But something just happened and I'm playing with him. When I was an amateur, he was already a pro player, so I kinda looked up to him [because] he's very famous. I never expected my life to go like this."
Doublelift, whom ESPN interviewed after Olleh, reacted to his teammate's quote in the only way the trash-talking, three-time NA LCS champion could: by laughing at his friend and partner.
"That's so funny, I didn't know he was a fan of me," Doublelift said. "When I first started playing with [Olleh], I thought he was so bad. I didn't tell him that, I just told him we should work on these things. Over time I realized what value he has as a person: he's just a f---ing punching bag. He's like a damn sponge, and when I tell him something he is really humble and he doesn't take it personally, ever. He's only focused on improving and making sure he's a good asset to the team.
"I wanted Olleh to keep his style because I thought it was really good and we found a really good medium, and ever since then, I've only really enjoyed playing with him. I'm really happy about it."