TL;DR
- Shernfire confirmed departure from Team Liquid and North America due to visa requirements
- Team Liquid signed replacement jungler, leaving Shernfire without LCS offers
- The Australian jungler expressed emotional turmoil about his dream team experience
- His LCS journey included substitute duty during Broxah’s visa delay
- Shernfire will pursue Korean solo queue ranking during summer split
Team Liquid’s Australian jungler Shern “Shernfire” Tai has officially announced his departure from both the esports organization and the North American competitive scene entirely.
The professional gamer shared this significant career update with his followers through Twitter, where he received overwhelming community support and encouragement. Many dedicated League of Legends enthusiasts expressed strong disagreement with Team Liquid’s decision, with numerous fans declaring themselves “former Team Liquid supporters” due to what they perceived as mishandling of both Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng’s situation and now Shernfire’s departure.
Leaving Team Liquid
Read: https://t.co/8pnOub1Nn1
— Shern (@shernfire) May 16, 2020
According to Shernfire’s detailed TwitLonger explanation, Team Liquid management secured an alternative jungler acquisition, leading to termination of their contractual arrangement with the Australian competitor. During this transitional period, Shernfire disclosed that he failed to receive any competing offers from fellow LCS organizations, ultimately forcing his departure from North America due to immigration visa restrictions. His immediate competitive plans involve pursuing the coveted “Rank 1” position during the upcoming summer competitive period within Korean solo queue ladder systems.
“This entire professional situation creates significant emotional distress. As my supporters understand, I dedicated more than twelve months of intensive effort to secure an opportunity with my aspirational team Team Liquid and demonstrate my competitive capabilities. In certain aspects I successfully validated my skills, while in other areas I unfortunately fell short of expectations,” Shernfire emotionally expressed.
He continued by explaining the personal pain of witnessing respected figures within the industry “lose confidence in my abilities,” but emphasized his commitment to learning from this challenging experience.
“I remain fortunate to maintain a supportive network of individuals who persistently encourage and trust in my potential achievements. I will persistently compete and, while acknowledging I will inevitably make mistakes, I maintain determination to continue progressing until I achieve competitive success,” Shernfire concluded in his statement.
Shernfire’s Challenging Journey with Team Liquid
Shernfire initially contacted Doublelift through Twitter communications in 2018, requesting guidance from the veteran player regarding potential placement on Team Liquid’s developmental academy roster. The renowned North American Attack Damage Carry professional never provided a response, though this communication gap didn’t deter Shernfire’s determined pursuit of his competitive objectives. The Australian jungler was 21 years of age when he formally joined Team Liquid Academy in November 2019. His initial professional agreement was originally scheduled to conclude in November 2021.
The emerging jungle specialist received emergency transportation to Los Angeles merely weeks preceding the 2020 LCS Spring Split commencement, serving as temporary replacement for Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen during his visa processing delays. He initiated professional scrimmage sessions immediately following his arrival. He candidly discussed with WIN.gg publication his substantial anxiety about competing alongside his competitive idols within Team Liquid. While he gradually developed confidence and began feeling more deserving of his unexpected LCS competitive position, the professional squad failed to deliver expected performance levels with him occupying the jungle role.
Naturally, these competitive struggles cannot be attributed exclusively to Shernfire’s performance. The previous LCS championship winning team and Mid-Season Invitational finalist organization encountered multiple performance challenges throughout the competitive split, including Doublelift’s documented negative competitive mindset. Regardless, management reassigned Shernfire to the academy roster following Broxah’s return. Regrettably, Team Liquid Academy also struggled to achieve improved competitive results with Shernfire in their lineup.
Action Checklist
- Evaluate international visa requirements before committing to overseas competitive opportunities
- Develop contingency plans for contract termination scenarios in volatile esports environments
- Build professional networks across multiple organizations to increase opportunity access
- Maintain competitive sharpness through alternative ranking systems during transition periods
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