Liquid one series away from Riyadh; Legacy hopeful for lower-bracket run
After Liquid breezed through the North American Open Qualifier and Elevate managed to upset Nouns and Wildcard to guarantee a spot in the Closed Qualifier, both teams had very different paths once in the final qualifier event for the Esports World Cup.
Liquid are now one series win away from qualifying for the Riyadh event, while Elevate have already been eliminated after a quick loss against M80 and a three-map series against Legacy.
The Closed Qualifier started with M80 facing Elevate in a quick 2-0 series in favor of the German-led squad. The first map had both Europeans from M80 leading the rating list, as Elias "s1n" Stein and Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich led the team to a 13-5 win on Vertigo. The series followed onto Ancient, where M80 didn't give Elevate a chance to fight for the win as they took the 13-3 win.
M80Elevate| M80 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
35 - 23 | +12 | 114.1 | 88.2% | 1.74 |
 Elias 's1n' Stein |
34 - 13 | +21 | 111.9 | 82.4% | 1.70 |
| Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich |
30 - 18 | +12 | 90.7 | 88.2% | 1.54 |
 Ethan 'reck' Serrano |
25 - 16 | +9 | 73.0 | 88.2% | 1.40 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
26 - 17 | +9 | 74.7 | 82.4% | 1.20 |
| Elevate |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane 'shane' Dressler |
20 - 28 | -8 | 69.2 | 52.9% | 0.78 |
| Jaxon 'Peeping' Cornwell |
17 - 30 | -13 | 64.3 | 64.7% | 0.75 |
 Deni 'dea' Ediev |
16 - 30 | -14 | 65.6 | 52.9% | 0.66 |
| Wyatt 'snav' Phillippi |
20 - 31 | -11 | 51.4 | 61.8% | 0.59 |
| Derek 'dare' Brown |
14 - 34 | -20 | 64.3 | 55.9% | 0.55 |
The other opening series was between Liquid and Legacy, as Jake "Stewie2K" Yip faced his former team. The Americas squad had Legacy's number in both maps, as Liquid took Mirage 13-9 and then Ancient 13-5.
LiquidLegacy| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
41 - 26 | +15 | 115.7 | 80.0% | 1.64 |
 Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
33 - 23 | +10 | 79.9 | 85.0% | 1.33 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
28 - 23 | +5 | 84.0 | 77.5% | 1.24 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
32 - 29 | +3 | 84.3 | 70.0% | 1.15 |
 Casper 'cadiaN' Møller |
26 - 20 | +6 | 57.4 | 80.0% | 1.08 |
| Legacy |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruno 'latto' Rebelatto |
35 - 31 | +4 | 89.1 | 80.0% | 1.19 |
| Bruno 'b4rtiN' Câmara |
22 - 31 | -9 | 71.0 | 70.0% | 0.93 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
23 - 32 | -9 | 62.8 | 62.5% | 0.82 |
| Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer |
24 - 31 | -7 | 62.4 | 62.5% | 0.78 |
| Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip |
17 - 35 | -18 | 52.8 | 52.5% | 0.61 |
With Elevate and Legacy relegated to the lower bracket, the two fought to stay alive in the qualifier. The series started with an immediate 13-1 Leagcy win on Mirage, picked by Elevate. The teams moved to Overpass where Elevate tied the series after a 19-17 map win. Things remained balanced during the Ancient decider, but it would be Stewie2K and co. claiming the 13-11 win, eliminating Elevate.
ElevateLegacy| Elevate |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek 'dare' Brown |
60 - 55 | +5 | 93.9 | 79.7% | 1.34 |
| Shane 'shane' Dressler |
46 - 53 | -7 | 65.4 | 64.9% | 0.92 |
| Wyatt 'snav' Phillippi |
46 - 55 | -9 | 74.3 | 63.5% | 0.90 |
| Jaxon 'Peeping' Cornwell |
37 - 52 | -15 | 58.3 | 60.8% | 0.78 |
| Deni 'dea' Ediev |
34 - 56 | -22 | 55.5 | 60.8% | 0.73 |
| Legacy |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer |
66 - 43 | +23 | 95.7 | 70.3% | 1.37 |
| Bruno 'b4rtiN' Câmara |
63 - 34 | +29 | 77.8 | 82.4% | 1.33 |
| Bruno 'latto' Rebelatto |
50 - 43 | +7 | 79.4 | 75.7% | 1.11 |
| Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip |
47 - 54 | -7 | 66.9 | 71.6% | 0.99 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
43 - 52 | -9 | 67.7 | 70.3% | 0.94 |
The series between M80 and Liquid for a spot in the grand final of the qualifier also featured three maps, as M80 took an early lead after taking Liquid's Mirage pick with a 13-3 win. The prancing horses would tie the series with a 13-10 Ancient and put an end to the match on Anubis with a 13-6 victory.
M80Liquid| M80 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
52 - 44 | +8 | 100.5 | 79.3% | 1.41 |
| Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich |
36 - 34 | +2 | 68.3 | 74.1% | 1.02 |
| Elias 's1n' Stein |
36 - 40 | -4 | 69.5 | 67.2% | 0.93 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
33 - 42 | -9 | 64.8 | 75.9% | 0.87 |
| Ethan 'reck' Serrano |
33 - 43 | -10 | 70.7 | 60.3% | 0.84 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
44 - 35 | +9 | 86.9 | 77.6% | 1.22 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
44 - 44 | +0 | 86.4 | 72.4% | 1.14 |
| Casper 'cadiaN' Møller |
41 - 34 | +7 | 69.7 | 77.6% | 1.08 |
| Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
38 - 38 | +0 | 75.1 | 72.4% | 1.04 |
| Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
35 - 41 | -6 | 66.5 | 70.7% | 0.93 |
Today, M80 will face Legacy in the lower-bracket for a spot in the grand final. That series is scheduled to start at 05:30PM, while Liquid gets ready to play against the winner at 09:30PM.
