Liquid plows past NRG; to Americas Minor playoffs
Two pairs of kills from Josh "jdm64" Marzano and Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski quickly secured the pistol round for Liquid, with little contest put up by NRG's defensive side; however, a force-buy from NRG threw Liquid into disarray in the following round, with Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte grabbing two CZ75 frags in A apartments. An additional pick from Cvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov seemed to have secured the second round in favour of NRG, especially with the bomb down at T stairs and forty seconds on the clock; however, stellar play in this two-on-five from EliGE and Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz allowed them to clinch the round for Liquid, though they did take heavy economical damage.
Unfortunately NRG was unable to capitalize on Liquid's low bankroll as they were on the receiving end of a quick B take in the first gun round, resulting in Liquid's economy stabilizing and allowing the fan favourites to grab seven rounds before NRG could reply with one of their own. An economical reset for NRG immediately followed by the hands of stanislaw, who once again came through for Liquid in a one-on-two.
This reset crushed NRG's economy for the latter part of the half, allowing Liquid to amass 13 rounds in the half before NRG finally secured one more of their own to end the half 13-2.
Liquid dealt with NRG's T side pistol with ease, putting the end of the match in clear sight. A quick reply from NRG on the following round halted that progress, but Liquid wasn't to be stopped - nades down mid and a force-buy helped them quickly clinch match point. NRG still managed to grab two more rounds, but with the lead they had garnered, Liquid was able to close the match with ease.
Liquid are the first team to make playoffs at the Americas Minor, and will be joined by the winner of the decider match. NRG will face the winner of compLexity and TeamOne in that decider match later today.