Liquid edge out Fluxo; what went right?
Liquid and Fluxo were pitted against one another in one of the 0-2 BO3 matches on the day, with the loser taking a quick exit from the Major. Despite the massive slump, many were confident in Liquid to wash Fluxo and get back on track. That confidence quickly subsided on Nuke after a rather dull T-side kept Liquid out of reach in the second half. On Inferno, Liquid barely avoided overtime, taking their pick in the 30th round. For a second time, the acclaimed leaders of the region went back to Ancient despite their poor record on the map. This time, they were successful, just barely. Despite struggling against a team that should have been an easy win, there are positives to pull from the series as Liquid looks to make the 3-2 comeback.
FluxoLiquid| Fluxo |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinicius 'vsm' Moreira |
64 - 50 | +14 | 84.5 | 77.9% | 1.24 |
| Lucas 'Lucaozy' Neves |
65 - 58 | +7 | 77.3 | 69.8% | 1.12 |
| Allan 'history' Lawrenz |
59 - 55 | +4 | 72.0 | 67.4% | 1.05 |
| João 'felps' Vasconcellos |
41 - 59 | -18 | 56.6 | 55.8% | 0.74 |
| Adriano 'WOOD7' Cerato |
34 - 56 | -22 | 48.9 | 61.6% | 0.71 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
59 - 45 | +14 | 72.4 | 77.9% | 1.20 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
65 - 54 | +11 | 81.5 | 65.1% | 1.15 |
 Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
56 - 53 | +3 | 72.2 | 73.3% | 1.06 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
52 - 59 | -7 | 70.5 | 67.4% | 0.96 |
| Nick 'nitr0' Cannella |
44 - 57 | -13 | 61.7 | 70.9% | 0.87 |
The sloth arrives
As one of the most consistent talents in all of CS, it is rare to see Keith "NAF" Markovic hit lows as we saw against Apeks. After responding with a massive performance against FORZE and then floundering on map one versus Fluxo, fans saw NAF in a predicament he otherwise is not used to against top teams. With question marks surrounding NAF and his team, he came alive in the final two maps, returning to the form fans and teammates have come to expect from the star talent. His elevation in impact made a huge difference for his team in the rest of the series, as they righted the ship and won the series 2-1.
Leading by example
Up 9-6 entering the second half of Ancient, Liquid looked to be in good shape to close out the series. Prospects improved after taking four of the first six rounds to go up 13-8. As expected, the Brazilians fought tooth and nail once Liquid hit match point, clawing their way to round 29 before the Americans closed the map 16-13. Leading the charge for Liquid was in-game leader Nick "nitr0" Cannella, a talent that typically is not the leading performer. He led the server in rating and was second on his team in frags on the T-side of Ancient, proving himself a catalyst in the second half of the decider for Liquid to secure the series.
Kicking the door down
Mistakes aside, Liquid put themselves in advantageous situations early throughout the series by taking the first kill advantage in each map. As the series continued, the gap increased. Starting with Nuke, a map they lost 11-16, Liquid closed the map only up one in entry advantage. For the final two maps, they increased the gap to a five-entry frag advantage both times. This early-round advantage is something to look at when assessing the razor-thin margin of victory, and something that helped carry Liquid over the finish line despite the slate of mistakes made after the early round.
In conclusion, Liquid is not out of the fire
Despite winning, Liquid is nowhere close to the supposed form they advertised ahead of the Major. They have not moved beyond their slow start, and have not offered enough to convince spectators that they can compete for a seat in the next stage, let alone playoffs.
What's next for Liquid?
After taking out Fluxo, they will have a quick turnaround against domestic opposition Complexity, where the two teams will yet again compete with their backs against the way in an elimination BO3. The two NA teams will begin cannibalizing each other tomorrow morning at 09:30AM.
