Will Liquid be able to finally overcome Astralis?

December 4, 2018 06:54PM

Written by bleghfarec

EPL S8 Finals Day 1 recap: Liquid crush G2, BIG

The first day of the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals have come to a close in Odense, with half of the teams who qualified through the North American regular season proceeding to the upper bracket.

Also read: ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals talent announced

The event kicked off with Renegades taking on HellRaisers on Mirage. The Australian squad struggled to gain a foothold, despite decent performance from Justin "jks" Savage. Issa "ISSAA" Murad led his squad through a dominance first 12-3 first half, ultimately culminating into a 16-5 win.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Mrg

Renegades

5 - 16

HellRaisers

All maps

Renegades	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Justin 'jks' Savage	18 - 15	+3	86.9	66.7%	1.13
Jay 'Liazz' Tregillgas	14 - 17	-3	102.9	66.7%	0.97
Aaron 'AZR' Ward	13 - 16	-3	67.9	71.4%	0.87
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad	10 - 18	-8	65.9	61.9%	0.79
Sean 'Gratisfaction' Kaiwai	11 - 15	-4	48.1	61.9%	0.74

HellRaisers	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Issa 'ISSAA' Murad	22 - 14	+8	103.1	61.9%	1.59
Kirill 'ANGE1' Karasiow	20 - 11	+9	99.0	81.0%	1.56
Abay 'HObbit' Khassenov	16 - 12	+4	78.7	66.7%	1.22
Bence 'DeadFox' Böröcz	11 - 15	-4	61.2	81.0%	0.96
Özgür 'woxic' Eker	12 - 14	-2	58.2	57.1%	0.85

Maps

ISSAA22 kills

Most kills

ISSAA1.59 rating

Best rating

jks1.81 rating

Best t-side

ISSAA1.54 rating

Best ct-side

Mirage Rounds

Coming off a win in Malta, Liquid were fired up on Nuke, taking the T-side in the first half against G2. Both teams were neck-and-neck, with Liquid ultimately taking a small 8-7 lead at halftime. In the second now, now on the CT-side, Keith "NAF" Markovic crushed G2, taking Nuke 16-8 and knocking the French team to the lower bracket.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Nuke

Liquid

16 - 8

All maps

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Keith 'NAF' Markovic	26 - 12	+14	117.0	91.7%	1.80
Nick 'nitr0' Cannella	22 - 15	+7	104.5	91.7%	1.58
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski	21 - 16	+5	75.4	66.7%	1.15
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken	13 - 12	+1	56.9	75.0%	1.04
Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo	12 - 16	-4	53.2	70.8%	0.88

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Richard 'shox' Papillon	18 - 15	+3	84.0	62.5%	1.12
Kévin 'Ex6TenZ' Droolans	17 - 20	-3	78.2	62.5%	0.98
Edouard 'SmithZz' Dubourdeaux	15 - 21	-6	70.2	50.0%	0.80
Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro	12 - 20	-8	73.0	62.5%	0.66
Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub	9 - 18	-9	47.9	50.0%	0.51

Maps

NAF26 kills

Most kills

NAF1.80 rating

Best rating

NAF1.93 rating

Best t-side

nitr01.88 rating

Best ct-side

Nuke Rounds

After taking SK's place in the Pro League and reaching Odense, INTZ took on BIG, with the map ending up on Train. Tizian "tiziaN" Feldbusch led his squad to a clean 10-5 lead in the first half, but were met with some resistance in the second half. The German core ultimately were able to close the map, knocking INTZ down 16-10.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Trn

INTZ

10 - 16

BIG

All maps

INTZ	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe	23 - 15	+8	91.3	88.5%	1.35
Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes	23 - 21	+2	105.8	57.7%	1.20
Alexandre 'xand' Zizi	18 - 19	-1	87.6	73.1%	1.10
João 'horvy' Horvath	14 - 19	-5	40.1	53.8%	0.62
João 'felps' Vasconcellos	10 - 23	-13	50.9	61.5%	0.54

BIG	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Tizian 'tiziaN' Feldbusch	29 - 20	+9	114.4	76.9%	1.68
Fatih 'gob b' Dayik	23 - 17	+6	89.5	76.9%	1.33
Owen 'smooya' Butterfield	21 - 15	+6	68.7	69.2%	1.16
Johannes 'tabseN' Wodarz	13 - 17	-4	69.1	57.7%	0.89
Johannes 'nex' Maget	10 - 19	-9	61.1	65.4%	0.76

Maps

tiziaN29 kills

Most kills

tiziaN1.68 rating

Best rating

tiziaN2.57 rating

Best t-side

kNgV-1.49 rating

Best ct-side

Train Rounds

In a Brazilian derby, MIBR took on Sharks, an up-and-coming team in the South American region. MIBR beached the Sharks, with Tarik "tarik" Celik going 25-5 on Inferno, taking the map 16-2 and instantly knocking Sharks down to the lower bracket.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Inf

MIBR

16 - 2

Sharks

All maps

MIBR	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Tarik 'tarik' Celik	25 - 5	+20	140.3	94.4%	2.29
Marcelo 'coldzera' David	17 - 5	+12	98.6	94.4%	1.80
Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip	18 - 5	+13	84.4	88.9%	1.68
Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga	13 - 7	+6	99.0	83.3%	1.38
Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo	10 - 5	+5	58.4	83.3%	1.21

Sharks	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Rodrigo 'RCF' Figueiredo	8 - 17	-9	53.9	33.3%	0.48
Raphael 'exit' Lacerda	7 - 16	-9	58.6	33.3%	0.48
Jhonatan 'jnt' Silva	6 - 16	-10	35.2	38.9%	0.41
Renato 'nak' Nakano	4 - 18	-14	41.6	27.8%	0.25
Leonardo 'leo_drk' Oliveira	2 - 18	-16	19.8	22.2%	0.12

Maps

tarik25 kills

Most kills

tarik2.29 rating

Best rating

coldzera3.15 rating

Best t-side

tarik2.11 rating

Best ct-side

Inferno Rounds

NRG and North, two teams setting strides to become Top 5 teams, faced off on Train, with both teams remaining fairly competitive with each other. NRG took the upper hand in the first half, going up 9-6, but North were eventually able to tie the score 12-12 in the second half. Ethan "nahtE" Arnold eventually crushed the resistance from North, with NRG taking the map 16-13.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Trn

NRG

16 - 13

North

All maps

NRG	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Ethan 'Ethan' Arnold	29 - 19	+10	102.2	69.0%	1.44
Jacob 'FugLy' Medina	21 - 20	+1	72.5	72.4%	1.07
Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov	21 - 18	+3	71.1	72.4%	1.06
Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte	22 - 21	+1	73.8	62.1%	1.03
Damian 'daps' Steele	13 - 21	-8	60.2	69.0%	0.85

North	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Philip 'aizy' Aistrup	24 - 23	+1	93.4	79.3%	1.22
Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangså	23 - 22	+1	91.1	72.4%	1.22
Casper 'cadiaN' Møller	21 - 18	+3	72.8	69.0%	1.05
Markus 'Kjaerbye' Kjærbye	18 - 19	-1	73.1	75.9%	1.01
Nicklas 'gade' Gade	13 - 24	-11	44.4	55.2%	0.63

Maps

Ethan29 kills

Most kills

Ethan1.44 rating

Best rating

Ethan1.21 rating

Best t-side

Ethan1.67 rating

Best ct-side

Train Rounds

Climbing to the Top 25 in HLTV's World Rankings and Dust2.us' Top 3, Ghost have cemented themselves as one of the top teams in North America. However, against foreign opponents, Ghost still require more work, as Miikka "suNny" Kemppi walked over Ghost on Train. At the end of the lopsided match, the European mix ultimately took the map 16-5, knocking Ghost to the lower bracket.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Trn

Ghost

5 - 16

MOUZ

All maps

Ghost	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Kenneth 'koosta' Suen	18 - 18	+0	103.4	57.1%	1.06
Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik	12 - 15	-3	68.0	57.1%	0.75
Jason 'neptune' Tran	10 - 17	-7	50.4	57.1%	0.64
Matthew 'WARDELL' Yu	7 - 17	-10	38.5	61.9%	0.48
Joshua 'steel' Nissan	8 - 19	-11	51.1	57.1%	0.47

MOUZ	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Miikka 'suNny' Kemppi	20 - 10	+10	102.6	90.5%	1.74
Chris 'chrisJ' de Jong	19 - 10	+9	77.5	81.0%	1.50
Martin 'STYKO' Styk	15 - 13	+2	107.0	81.0%	1.41
Tomáš 'oskar' Šťastný	17 - 11	+6	69.3	71.4%	1.33
Robin 'ropz' Kool	15 - 11	+4	69.2	66.7%	1.10

Maps

suNny20 kills

Most kills

suNny1.74 rating

Best rating

suNny2.04 rating

Best t-side

chrisJ2.61 rating

Best ct-side

Train Rounds

With the opening matches completed, the first round of the Group A lower bracket played out, with Renegades taking on their Eastern Chinese counterpart, ViCi. Aaron "AZR" Ward shone on Inferno, topping his team's scoreboard and leading his team to a somewhat shaky 16-12 victory on Inferno.

Things looked off for Renegades at the start of Mirage, as ViCi swept through the first seven straight rounds uncontested. Renegades eventually found their footing against in the eighth round, returning the favor with eight straight rounds to take the 8-7 lead at halftime. Renegades' dominance continued well into the second half, with the Australian squad taking the second map 16-9 and securing the series 2-0, eliminating ViCi.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Bo3

Renegades

2 - 0

ViCi

All maps

Renegades	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad	51 - 31	+20	94.3	75.5%	1.47
Aaron 'AZR' Ward	50 - 34	+16	91.7	75.5%	1.39
Justin 'jks' Savage	40 - 32	+8	92.6	84.9%	1.33
Sean 'Gratisfaction' Kaiwai	44 - 32	+12	83.1	77.4%	1.27
Jay 'Liazz' Tregillgas	25 - 29	-4	57.9	67.9%	0.90

ViCi	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
WeiJie 'zhokiNg' Zhong	46 - 43	+3	94.5	67.9%	1.22
ZhiHong 'aumaN' Liu	36 - 42	-6	71.8	64.2%	0.87
WingHei 'Freeman' Cheung	29 - 44	-15	63.5	54.7%	0.74
Zhuo 'advent' Liang	25 - 41	-16	54.8	56.6%	0.71
Andrew 'kaze' Khong	22 - 41	-19	41.1	66.0%	0.62

Maps

AZR28 kills

Most kills

AZR1.42 rating

Best rating

Gratisfaction1.39 rating

Best t-side

zhokiNg1.80 rating

Best ct-side

Inferno Rounds

jkaem27 kills

Most kills

jkaem1.57 rating

Best rating

jkaem1.58 rating

Best t-side

AZR2.11 rating

Best ct-side

Mirage Rounds

In the upper bracket semi-finals of Group A, Liquid continued their stampede, with BIG now in their crosshairs. NAF and the gang easily cleaned house, taking Inferno and Dust2 in two fell 16-6 swoops. Knocking BIG down to the lower bracket, Liquid move on to the upper bracket finals of Group A where they will take on... Astralis.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Bo3

Liquid

2 - 0

BIG

All maps

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Keith 'NAF' Markovic	43 - 15	+28	97.6	84.1%	1.71
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski	45 - 31	+14	112.7	84.1%	1.63
Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo	36 - 25	+11	82.0	70.5%	1.32
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken	29 - 27	+2	72.6	95.5%	1.24
Nick 'nitr0' Cannella	27 - 22	+5	58.2	75.0%	1.12

BIG	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Johannes 'nex' Maget	32 - 33	-1	79.2	65.9%	1.03
Johannes 'tabseN' Wodarz	30 - 35	-5	71.4	65.9%	0.91
Fatih 'gob b' Dayik	19 - 37	-18	64.3	59.1%	0.61
Tizian 'tiziaN' Feldbusch	21 - 40	-19	62.9	54.5%	0.60
Owen 'smooya' Butterfield	17 - 35	-18	47.1	54.5%	0.56

Maps

EliGE27 kills

Most kills

EliGE1.94 rating

Best rating

EliGE1.75 rating

Best t-side

EliGE2.36 rating

Best ct-side

Inferno Rounds

TACO23 kills

Most kills

NAF1.85 rating

Best rating

NAF2.13 rating

Best t-side

TACO2.58 rating

Best ct-side

Dust2 Rounds

Taking on INTZ in the Group A lower bracket, G2 found solace on their map pick of Overpass, handily taking the first map 16-6, despite their previous shaky performance The series took a turn for the worse on Mirage, where INTZ slapped the French squad with a 16-8 map, tying the series 1-1.

On Dust2, both teams were anxious to avoid elimination, with the map ultimately going into double overtime with G2 reigning victorious 22-18. Taking the series 2-1, G2 move on to the second round of the lower bracket, where they will take on HellRaisers.

ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals

Bo3

2 - 1

INTZ

All maps

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Kévin 'Ex6TenZ' Droolans	61 - 54	+7	83.0	73.3%	1.15
Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro	62 - 58	+4	80.9	72.1%	1.15
Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub	56 - 54	+2	77.7	67.4%	1.07
Richard 'shox' Papillon	67 - 60	+7	78.8	65.1%	1.07
Edouard 'SmithZz' Dubourdeaux	49 - 61	-12	60.6	69.8%	0.92

INTZ	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe	65 - 59	+6	83.0	76.7%	1.15
Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes	62 - 58	+4	66.4	67.4%	1.02
Alexandre 'xand' Zizi	61 - 59	+2	78.9	70.9%	1.02
João 'felps' Vasconcellos	56 - 62	-6	77.7	69.8%	1.01
João 'horvy' Horvath	40 - 59	-19	65.4	65.1%	0.87

Maps

Ex6TenZ22 kills

Most kills

kennyS1.65 rating

Best rating

kennyS1.50 rating

Best t-side

kennyS1.96 rating

Best ct-side

Overpass Rounds

xand23 kills

Most kills

xand1.33 rating

Best rating

xand1.21 rating

Best t-side

felps1.74 rating

Best ct-side

Mirage Rounds

shox36 kills

Most kills

kNgV-1.35 rating

Best rating

kNgV-1.41 rating

Best t-side

Ex6TenZ1.34 rating

Best ct-side

Dust2 Rounds

The matches play out to begin tomorrow are:

Wednesday, December 5th
6:00 AM	Ghost vs. ORDER	BO3
6:00 AM	Sharks vs. North	BO3
9:50 AM	MIBR vs. NRG	BO3
9:50 AM	Renegades vs. BIG	BO3
1:40 PM	mousesports vs. Na`Vi	BO3
1:40 PM	HellRaisers vs. G2	BO3

Also read: $7,500 CS:GO Winter Warfare tournament cancelled