What to expect from Liquid v. Virtus.pro rematch

Liquid have continued their lower bracket run through ESL Pro League Season 18 Group D with their win over Cloud9 and are now rewarded with facing Virtus.pro once again in what will likely be another grueling match. Despite Dzhami "Jame" Ali and co. almost certainly making this a drawn-out three-map affair for Liquid once again, Liquid proved in their first match against VP they have the tools to win outright with small improvements.

Liquid's Small Improvements

So the elephant in the room for what can sway the balance of this match is that Patsi isn't dazed and confused in Malta coming straight off of a plane like the first series. With that in mind, it should hopefully allow him to perform better than last time. However, when speaking of these small improvements, what fans should really be asking for is more from Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis and Keith "NAF" Markovic who didn't play to their level on the 20th. Therefore that will be something that fans will need to keep an eye on.

• Patsi isn't running to EPL from the airport

• We need to see more from YEKINDAR and NAF

• Rainwaker could be the x-factor if he plays better than against Cloud9

Jame Time

In their last showdown, Jame's VP managed to grind out a 30-round an overtime win over Liquid to secure the series win in classic Vitrtus.pro fashion. If Liquid want to win they need to strike fast and strike hard lest VP grind them into dust once again.

• VP can and will play 90+ rounds to get the win

• Jame is playing very well at the moment

• n0rb3r7 has been a bit of a nothingburger in EPL thus far

Previous Matchups

Have they previously played each other? Yes? Have you been paying attention to anything I've been saying?

Likely Vetoes

As these two teams played each other only three days ago at the time of the match, any veto innovation is unlikely, especially considering it was series either team felt they could likely win. However, as always, these vetoes come with the caveat that they are highly speculative as they depend on whether Virtus.pro, as the higher ranked team, chooses to pick first or ban last. Additionally, any changes compared to the last article can be considered a difference in editorial methodology between writers.

• Virtus.pro bans Mirage

• Liquid bans Inferno (0% Winrate, VP won it confidently in last showdown)

• Virtus.pro picks Overpass (If Liquid ban Inferno, VP will want to play Overpass)

• Liquid picks Mirage (Risky map but Liquid are at a disadvantage in this veto)

• Vertigo could be the decider (If VP refuse to humor Nuke and Liquid are scared of Anubis)

Liquid will face off against Virtus.pro early tomorrow at 10:00AM.