Team Liquid stave off elimination again at LCS Lock-In

Field Level Media|published: Sat 21st February, 24:32 2026

YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year.

Team Liquid remained in contention with a 3-0 sweep of Disguised in the first lower-bracket quarterfinal of the League Championship Series 2026 Lock-In in Los Angeles on Friday.

After finishing sixth (out of eight teams) in the Swiss Stage and winning the last-chance tiebreaker match, Liquid again staved off elimination with the sweep of Disguised, which finished fourth in the Swiss Stage and lost an upper-bracket semifinal to Sentinels on Feb. 14.

Team Liquid now awaits the winner of Saturday's other lower-bracket quarterfinal between LYON and FlyQuest. Liquid will face that victor in the lower-bracket semifinal on Feb. 27, needing two more wins to advance to the March 1 grand final.

There are six teams competing in the double-elimination playoffs, and all matches are best-of-five. The overall winner on March 1 qualifies for the 2026 First Stand Tournament.

Liquid clinched the sweep with a trio of wins in 34, 24 and 31 minutes. Brandon Jose "Josedeodo" Villegas of Argentina claimed the MVP honor in the final two games of the match, finishing with a 16-6-24 kill-death-assist ratio. South Korea's Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in was the MVP of the opening game, finishing with 15 assists as part of his 2-6-37 K-D-A showing.

Oh "Callme" Ji-hoon of South Korea led Disguised with a 6-10-13 K-D-A ratio.

2026 Lock-In at Los Angeles prize pool

1. TBD, qualifies for First Stand Tournament

2. TBD, qualifies for America's Cup

3. TBD, qualifies for America's Cup

4. TBD

5-6. Disguised, TBD

7. Dignitas

8. Shopify Rebellion

--Field Level Media

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