Astralis continues winning streak against Liquid
Despite starting out hot at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, Liquid seemed to falter at the finish line with losses against FaZe and Astralis pushing them into the Showdown. The momentum collapsed, but positive signs remained for the new European squad. With Liquid slated to play against Astralis in a BO1 to open IEM Cologne, there was cause for concern if Keith "NAF" Markovic and his teammates could get their revenge.
The match began on Overpass with Astralis taking Liquid to task as the Danish defense was way too strong for Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis' offensive tactics. Liquid would only be able to get one round in the first ten as Astralis' staunch defense prevented Liquid from gathering any sort of momentum. While Astralis would be the first to ten rounds, Liquid would respond late and take five of their own to keep the game somewhat alive.
The second half wouldn't fair much better as Liquid seemed unable to quell the Danish attack. NAF and Josh "oSee" Ohm did their best on the CT side on things, but they were under constant pressure from Astralis. Liquid would get another five rounds on the opposite side of the ball, but Astralis would get six as they closed out the map 16-10, sending Liquid to the lower bracket.
AstralisLiquid| Astralis |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Christian 'Buzz' Andersen |
23 - 20 | +3 | 108.2 | 84.6% | 1.40 |
| Nicolai 'device' Reedtz |
19 - 12 | +7 | 80.7 | 73.1% | 1.35 |
| Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer |
21 - 18 | +3 | 80.4 | 69.2% | 1.23 |
| Johannes 'b0RUP' Borup |
20 - 17 | +3 | 70.6 | 69.2% | 1.07 |
| Victor 'Staehr' Staehr |
13 - 17 | -4 | 59.7 | 73.1% | 0.85 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
26 - 20 | +6 | 114.5 | 73.1% | 1.41 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
16 - 19 | -3 | 67.7 | 73.1% | 0.98 |
 Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
14 - 19 | -5 | 68.5 | 69.2% | 0.85 |
 Robert 'Patsi' Isyanov |
17 - 19 | -2 | 65.0 | 65.4% | 0.84 |
 Aleks 'Rainwaker' Petrov |
9 - 20 | -11 | 45.0 | 65.4% | 0.70 |
