Canadian stars shine; Liquid take down FaZe
In 2019, Keith "NAF" Markovic and Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken lifted the Intel Grand Slam together with Liquid, marking the only IGS win for a North American team. Since Twistzz departed for FaZe in early 2021, the two Canadians have come head to head on more than one occasion. With today's matchup, however, there was a first on the cards as it was the first time that these two have come head-to-head with neither man competing for an NA-majority team.
With Liquid surprisingly coming out on top considering how recently their changes have transpired, we take a closer look at the hotly contested affair and break down what went right for NA's former top team with their new EU lineup.
EU majority but NA still shined
Worrying was warranted for the state of NA when Liquid announced their new EU-centric lineup this offseason. With star player Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis at the helm, there could be worries that the Latvian might take a BlameF-esque approach by calling around himself and his aggressive style, with fellow European Robert "Patsi" Isyanov's game style suiting the in-your-face approach.
Despite the fear that NAF and Josh "oSee" Ohm might not necessarily fit into the same aggressive mold as their EU colleagues, the two natives of North America thrived today in YEKINDAR's new system against FaZe. Both topped the charts for Liquid today, with oSee posting a 1.13 rating while having glimpses of crisp rifling alongside some rock-solid AWPing. As for NAF, the 25-year-old stated on the broadcast after the win that he has some more freedom now as a result of Aleks "Rainwaker" Petrov's more passive style, resulting in the Canadian leading the team with a 1.23 rating.
Twistzz barely falls short
NAF and oSee may have been the most valuable players to Liquid today, but Twistzz was the most valuable player on the server after a stellar display. Leading the server with a 1.25 rating, the 23-year-old was the only FaZe player to show up in all three maps today as the team was blown out in the first half on both Mirage and Ancient. Leading the way with a 24-16 stat line on their map win of Inferno, Twistzz performed to the high level that we have grown to expect of him despite the disappointing loss.
What's next?
Liquid now sits one win away from the Royal Arena, with the top team from each group earning a spot at BLAST Fall Final at the end of November. As for their opponent in that match, there's a chance we could see a rematch of today's game, with FaZe facing off against G2 in the consolidation final on Wednesday. If the Twistzz and co. can defeat the Kovac cousins, they will face off against Liquid with the loser being sent down to the single elimination bracket. One thing is for sure though if FaZe do beat G2, we are guaranteed some NA stars taking to the server later this year!
