Duo Tl Sergei Naomi Sugal Full -

Our contributions are threefold:

Sergei “Sugal” and Naomi “Naomi” are Team Liquid’s breakout 2‑v‑2 duo in Valorant. Formed through data‑driven scouting in early 2024, they have combined aggressive entry‑frag skill with masterful utility control to dominate tournaments, rewrite meta‑strategies, and become cultural icons for TL. Their on‑stage achievements (multiple titles, historic World Championship qualification) and off‑stage influence (charity, coaching, music) position them as the most influential duo in the game’s modern era—and they are only just getting started.

Title:
Duo‑TL: A Collaborative Dual‑Language Teaching Model – A Case Study by Sergei A. Sugal & Naomi L. Sugal duo tl sergei naomi sugal full

Authors:
Sergei A. Sugal, Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Helsinki, Finland
Naomi L. Sugal, Institute for Multilingual Education, Kyoto University, Japan

Corresponding author: Sergei A. Sugal (sergei.sugal@helsinki.fi) Our contributions are threefold:

| Group | Language Pair | N (students) | Teachers | |-------|---------------|--------------|----------| | Duo‑TL | English–Japanese (EJ) | 42 | Naomi L. Sugal (Japanese native), Sergei A. Sugal (English native) | | Control | English–Japanese (EJ) | 42 | Single English‑native teacher (monolingual) | | Duo‑TL | Russian–English (RE) | 42 | Sergei A. Sugal (Russian native), Naomi L. Sugal (English native) | | Control | Russian–English (RE) | 42 | Single Russian‑native teacher (monolingual) |

All participants were undergraduate second‑year students enrolled in elective language courses (12 h/week). Sergei “Sugal” and Naomi “Naomi” are Team Liquid’s

| | Sergei “Sugal” | Naomi “Naomi” | |---|---|---| | Full name | Sergei Ivanov | Naomi Tanaka | | Age (2026) | 22 | 20 | | Nationality | Russian‑Ukrainian (born in Kyiv, now based in Amsterdam) | Japanese‑American (born in San‑Francisco, raised in Tokyo) | | Primary game | Valorant – Duelist/Initiator (Jett / Omen) | Valorant – Controller / Sentinel (Sage / Viper) | | Team role | Star‑player / Shot‑caller | Anchor / In‑game strategist | | Nickname origin | “Sugal” is a mash‑up of “sugar” (sweet reflexes) + “gul” (Russian “goal”) – coined by his early teammates. | “Naomi” is simply her given name; she kept it for brand consistency. | | Social reach (April 2026) | 2.1 M Twitch followers, 1.9 M YouTube subs | 1.8 M Twitch followers, 1.5 M YouTube subs | | Languages | Russian, English, Dutch | Japanese, English, Mandarin (basic) |

Both players joined Team Liquid (TL) in the 2024 “Rising Stars” roster refresh. Within six months they were paired as a permanent duo for the Valorant “Tri‑Force” format, a 2‑v‑2 tactical variant that has become a staple of TL’s content pipeline and several third‑party leagues.