Going down Swinging: NA's Top 5 plays from IEM Cologne 2024
Liquid's run at IEM Cologne 2024 ended with the team committing fratricide against Complexity before falling in a nail-biting 2-1 series against FaZe to miss out on playoffs. While no NA team made it to the Lanxess this time around, NA's performance was much improved in Cologne compared to years past as evidenced by the sheer number of highlights Complexity and Liquid posted over the past week. With that in mind, Dust2.us has selected our favorite five clips that showed off NA's talent abroad.
#5: 
NAF 4 quick kills on the A-site defense vs. 
FURIA on Dust2
Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak may be Liquid's primary AWPer, but Keith "NAF" Markovic is just as deadly as any AWPer in tier one, demonstrated by his three quick kills against FURIA on Dust2 that was followed up by a final kill with the Dual Elites.
#4: 
ultimate 4 kills on the Mid defense vs. 
FaZe on Mirage
ultimate showed off both his AWPing and rifling prowess against FaZe on Mirage, with the young Polish upcomer claiming two lightning quick AWP kills before closing out the round with two crisp headshots with the AK-47.
#3: 
jks 1v3 clutch vs. FaZe on Mirage
In another highlight clip from Liquid's battle against FaZe on Mirage, Justin "jks" Savage showed off great spray control and positioning to pick up four kills and secure Liquid their fourth round.
#2: 
hallzerk 1v5 clutch vs. 
ALTERNATE aTTaX on Inferno
Early in Complexity's run at IEM Cologne, Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli claimed a fantastic 1v5 against ALTENRATE aTTaX on Inferno. The whole sequence demonstrated excellent positioning and rifling from the AWPer while also abusing the nerves and the lack of experience of his German opponents.
#1: 
Liquid win three close duels to stay alive vs. FaZe on Nuke
Round 22 of Liquid's match against FaZe on Nuke was an absolutely insane sequence from start to finish, with ultimate, NAF, and jks employing absolutely stellar aim to win a must-win round that the NA organization had no business claiming. In the span of five seconds, each remaining member of Liquid won a 1v1 on the thinnest of margins in a situation where losing any one of them would've likely cost Liquid the series. A truly stellar show of form from the recently formed lineup.
