An underdog stomps: Liquid vs paiN
The opening round of the ESL Pro League playoffs looked to be favorable for America’s sole representation, Liquid, as they were slated to face a fringe top-30 HLTV-ranked team in paiN. The series turned out to be an all-around disaster for NA’s top team, as they were stomped out on their map pick before eventually falling victim to a massive upset and being eliminated from EPL.
Washed on home soil
Liquid’s decision of Mirage can always be dicey, as the map’s general familiarity at all levels makes it a map susceptible for any professional to have a game-winning impact, regardless of how well a team may feel on it. This concept came true in a big way, as paiN beat Liquid up badly on their map pick. paiN would start the map 7-1 and begin to look vulnerable at 9-6 before running away with Liquid’s map 16-7 thanks to a rather dominant T side. Specifically, paiN rifler Rodriguo “biguzera” Bittencourt ran rampant on the A-site throughout the whole half, ending with nearly 150 ADR in the eight second-half rounds. His overall performance was a key component in paiN’s 16-7 win.
A pseudo-comeback
paiN looked to be running away with Ancient and the series upset in a big way after a seven-round series put them up 10-2 on the CT side. Liquid fought tooth and nail to close the gap between the two teams, narrowing it to a 7-10 deficit for the Americans. Despite the numbers looking close on paper, paiN’s complete game across Ancient was enough to keep them in the driver’s seat every step of maps one and two to earn the upset victory and eliminate Liquid in a big way.
The worst way at the worst time
This iteration of Liquid’s roster has not exited an event with such a terrible placing on paper and overall showing in-server. The 13-16th showing at EPL is not only their worst result together but also their second in three events placing outside of the top four, or even eight. Multiple losses to teams regarded as underdogs to Liquid tell the story of their EPL shortcomings. Liquid’s timing could not be worse as they’ll be forced into a quick turnaround with BLAST Americas Spring Showdown next week and the Paris Major Americas RMR just three days after
Looking ahead
As stated, Liquid will have to figure it out in a big way with the Major cycle ready to begin. As for paiN, they’ll continue their cinderella run in ESL Pro League against MOUZ. A convincing win over FURIA headlined MOUZ’s path to the playoff, and they look plenty capable to do the same against another Brazilian lineup. However, paiN’s fiery form and strong map pool are convincing selling points to make them viable candidates for another upset win.
