Liquid fall to old rivals in Astralis
Liquid's run at ESL Pro League Season 19 has come to an all too familiar end as the NA squad have been felled by their old rivals in Astralis, with the Danes making waves by claiming a 2-0 victory to lock in a spot in the semifinals.
The series began on Liquid's pick of Inferno with the NA squad leading the charge by winning the first three rounds on their T-side before Astralis were able to get on the board. This lead would be maintained throughout the half despite Astralis' best efforts, with Keith "NAF" Markovic leading the charge as Liquid narrowly eked out a 7-5 half.
After switching sides, things began to go awry for Liquid as Astralis claimed the lead for the first time by winning three rounds in a row before Liquid won two rounds to reclaim the lead at 9-8. Unfortunately for Liquid this would be the last time they were in control during the map as Astralis won the next five rounds in a row to take Inferno 13-9.
Moving onto Overpass, Astralis would win their opening T-side pistol before Liquid would put on a strong display by winning the next six rounds in a row. While Astralis would attempt to close the gap by winning four of the next five rounds, Liquid would once again end the first half with a narrow 7-5 lead raising hopes we may see the series extend onto a third map.
Unfortunately, this was not meant to be, as Nicolai "device" Reedtz led the charge in the second half of Overpass, leading his ascendant Danish into an absolutely perfect CT-side, winning all eight rounds in a row while Liquid fumbled and were only able to plant the bomb twice, leading Astralis to take Overpass 13-7.
With Liquid battered by Astralis in a fashion not seen since the old days of their rivalry, Liquid will have some time to lick their wounds before they head stateside to play in IEM Dallas 2024 when it starts on May 27th.
AstralisLiquid| Astralis |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nicolai 'device' Reedtz |
39 - 24 | +15 | 96.9 | 76.2% | 1.45 |
| Jakob 'jabbi' Nygaard |
36 - 24 | +12 | 74.0 | 73.8% | 1.25 |
| Martin 'stavn' Lund |
31 - 22 | +9 | 74.5 | 78.6% | 1.23 |
| Victor 'Staehr' Staehr |
25 - 29 | -4 | 79.6 | 76.2% | 1.12 |
| Alexander 'br0' Bro |
21 - 28 | -7 | 64.0 | 76.2% | 0.93 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
29 - 33 | -4 | 85.2 | 66.7% | 1.09 |
| Casper 'cadiaN' Møller |
30 - 31 | -1 | 77.9 | 71.4% | 1.04 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
26 - 27 | -1 | 75.1 | 73.8% | 0.97 |
 Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
26 - 30 | -4 | 63.1 | 69.0% | 0.90 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
14 - 32 | -18 | 48.8 | 57.1% | 0.64 |
