Liquid sent to Last Chance stage
After losing their opening game of ESL Pro League Season 18 against Virtus.pro, Liquid got the chance to get revenge on the Russian team. Virtus.pro sent Liquid to the lower bracket and now found themselves there as well after losing to G2 in a qualification series.
The squad that transitioned to a European core during this Summer didn't get sweet revenge on Dzhami "Jame" Ali and company, thus falling to the Last Chance stage of Group D.
The series started off in Inferno, picked by the Russian team. Virtus.pro did not get the strong start they were looking for, as Liquid opened with an 8-2 lead on the T-side. David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan put the team on his back during the remainder of the half and managed to get them closer, going into the half with a 9-6 deficit. The second half was more balanced, but on Liquid's CT-side it was not just a single player hitting shots, thus winning rounds more consistently. The map ended 16-12 in favor of Liquid.
Going into Liquid's Ancient, things were looking good for the former NA roster, now containing just two NA players and a coach. Despite starting on the T-side, Liquid was ahead at the half 8-7, and, if things went according to the plan, this would be a 2-0 series. Virtus.pro won the second half pistol round and the following one, getting in the lead of the map, but the pieces quickly fell in place, with Liquid regaining control of the match, only allowing VP one more round for the time being. Liquid was ahead 14-10 when the Russian squad got back on the board with three straight and then three more to win Ancient 16-14.
With the shift in momentum from Ancient, Virtus.pro had an amazing T-side in Vertigo, the decider. Despite starting 3-0, the Russians closed the half 9-6 ahead. The second half was a mere formality, with VP not giving a single round over to Liquid. 16-6 was the final score, sending Liquid to the Last Chance stage.
Liquid will face Lynn Vision tomorrow, at Today 06:00AM.
Virtus.proLiquid| Virtus.pro |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dzhami 'Jame' Ali |
60 - 34 | +26 | 67.5 | 80.0% | 1.29 |
| Nikolay 'mir' Bityukov |
54 - 43 | +11 | 72.3 | 76.2% | 1.13 |
| Evgenii 'FL1T' Lebedev |
55 - 51 | +4 | 78.9 | 68.8% | 1.12 |
| David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan |
42 - 50 | -8 | 69.5 | 73.8% | 1.00 |
| Petr 'fame' Bolyshev |
43 - 50 | -7 | 64.0 | 63.7% | 0.92 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
52 - 50 | +2 | 66.5 | 66.2% | 0.99 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
41 - 55 | -14 | 71.1 | 66.2% | 0.94 |
 Aleks 'Rainwaker' Petrov |
44 - 49 | -5 | 67.1 | 68.8% | 0.92 |
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
50 - 49 | +1 | 64.2 | 72.5% | 0.92 |
| Robert 'Patsi' Isyanov |
39 - 53 | -14 | 55.4 | 70.0% | 0.84 |
