Gab Hernandez 
Team Liquid wins the Nerub-ar Palace: Race to World First challenge in World of Warcraft, with an amazing play from Kevin “Thdlock” sealing the win.
The Nerub-ar Palace: Race to World First is the latest in a long line of World of Warcraft races for World First. Long before streaming became common, guilds competed to see who could take down Ragnaros in Molten Core. The feat took 154 days, and the flowers went to Guild Ascent on the Medivh server.
Nowadays, these raid races have become a legitimate esports event. The Nerub-ar Palace Race to World First saw several teams rushing towards a victory over Queen Ansure. Finally, after over 400 pulls and an unexpected hotfix, Team Liquid defeated Queen Ansurek in a milestone moment.
Many fans point to Team Liquid’s Thdlock as the key to the victory.
Insane Thdlock play secures World First for Nerub-ar Palace
Thdlock quickly picked up the essence before Queen Ansurek’s circle, preventing a team wipe and securing World First for Nerub-ar Palace.
Team Liquid had led the race from day one and finally finished the race on day 12. With two tanks, four healers, eight melees, and six ranged, Team Liquid methodically cleared every phase of the Queen Ansurek fight.
Running destruction Warlock, Thdlock played a vital role in killing Queen Ansurek once and for all. As expected of a final raid boss, Queen Ansurek was the toughest fight yet, forcing Liquid to dig deeper for DPS. On top of that, the guild had to juggle Acolyte’s Essences to prevent a party-wiping attack, the circles seen in the clip.
Although Team Liquid had deftly juggled the essences in Phase 3, one bit of essence gave the assigned person the slip. Quick on his feet, Thdlock used an empowered gateway to grab the remaining essence, sealing the victory for his team after 404 grueling pulls. Notably, fellow teammate Xesevi silently picked up an essence that the rest of the team had missed during the chaos.
Fans celebrate a golden age for World Firsts in WoW
Fans praised Team Liquid for their second World First victory in World of Warcraft, calling it the start of a golden age.
Social media became abuzz with praise for Team Liquid’s stellar play. However, that praise also extended to every other guild, as the skill level has never been higher in World First history. With four guilds racing to the final raid boss near simultaneously, few can deny it’s a golden age for World of Warcraft raids.
Race to World First remains a staple of the World of Warcraft scene, reminding fans of how amazing raids can be at the highest level of play.
