Liquid comeback to secure EPL opener
It was not the easiest start to ESL Pro League Season 19 for Liquid, as they struggled against FURIA in their opening match. The Brazilians were already weakened following the departure of their former in-game leader Andrei "arT" Piovezan and the promotion of Kayke "kye" Bertolucci from their academy squad. Liquid should have comfortably won the game, but FURIA proved to be more to handle than they expected.
Inferno was a tough map for Liquid despite their solid T-side start, as they eventually crumbled in their defenses. The international squad took an early 5-3 lead, but that was cut down to a 6-6 tie before FURIA eventually ran away on their T-side in the second half to pull out a 13-9 win on Liquid's pick. To make matters worse, Liquid won both pistols within the match.
As the series moved to the Brazilian's pick of Mirage, it started to look like FURIA could run away with a 2-0 sweep, but Liquid ensured that they would have at least a third map to play. Despite FURIA winning the opening pistol, Liquid were able to strike back on the defense to claim seven rounds. Those rounds would be crucial as Liquid continued their momentum on the T-side to pull out a 13-7 win to tie the series up.
Nuke was a nervy match for both sides as the constant back and forth made it anyone's game. FURIA jumped out to take a quick 5-2 lead which was slowly chipped away at with Liquid claiming a 6-6 half on their T-side. The international squad continued their momentum in the match as they would be the first to nine, only for FURIA to tie it up. In the end, however, it was Liquid and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis that powered the squad to a comeback victory.
FURIALiquid| FURIA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato |
58 - 43 | +15 | 106.6 | 82.8% | 1.46 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
43 - 41 | +2 | 64.5 | 67.2% | 0.98 |
| Yuri 'yuurih' Santos |
34 - 43 | -9 | 58.8 | 68.8% | 0.84 |
| Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes |
34 - 50 | -16 | 69.7 | 64.1% | 0.84 |
| Kayke 'kye' Bertolucci |
26 - 42 | -16 | 41.8 | 65.6% | 0.72 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
41 - 39 | +2 | 79.9 | 85.9% | 1.20 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
49 - 40 | +9 | 89.2 | 71.9% | 1.20 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
50 - 43 | +7 | 85.7 | 65.6% | 1.10 |
| Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
40 - 39 | +1 | 62.2 | 71.9% | 0.94 |
 Casper 'cadiaN' Møller |
34 - 37 | -3 | 55.1 | 68.8% | 0.84 |
