What to expect from Liquid v. Vitality
Liquid are cruising and clearly in control of their own future after winning the mental battle against Spirit yesterday afternoon. Despite the international squad dropping their own map pick to begin the series, the team were able to rally and even take some wins thanks to the clutches of Vancouver's own Keith "NAF" Markovic. Today they face a familiar opponent in Vitality, but can Liquid get their revenge from their last meeting at ESL Pro LEague Season 20?
Top 5 Liquid?
With yesterday's win over Spirit, and how it happened, Liquid cemented itself as a firm Tier 1 team. Now, the question is if it is a Top 5 squad worldwide. Regardless of the result today, Liquid will be attending the playoffs and will have more chances to show its level. However, a win against Vitality would be a good argument as to why this Liquid iteration is one of the best CS2 rosters of the year.
-
jks and NAF very important to keep Liquid afloat in tough games
-
ultimate continues to impress
-
YEKINDAR is still inconsistent
2024 Vitality > 2023 Vitality?
There's still a long way to go, but Vitality are looking good to go on a good run during the second half of the year, rivaling the team's last year's success. There aren't as many trophies but the performances have been much more consistent, which is a testament to the squad's ten-month stint together. ESL Pro League Season 20 was Vitality's second-worst finish this year, so expect them to play with a chip on their shoulder in order to win this event.
-
Will ZywOo obliterate ultimate?
-
Vitality's fragging trio is averaging a 1.22 rating
-
apEX is one of the best IGLs of all time, always be aware of his calls
Previous Matchups
It's only the second time these two cores will meet in the servers. The first time it happened was just a few days ago during ESL Pro League Season 20, as Vitality took a 2-1 win after Liquid won the first map.
Likely Vetoes
The vetoes between the two will be interesting. Liquid will take away one of Vitality's better maps while Liquid will also lose one of its own in Ancient. With Vitality having the distinct advantage on both Dust2, Nuke, and Mirage, expect at least one of those to come through in the veto.
-
Liquid ban Vertigo
-
Vitality ban Ancient
-
Liquid pick Anubis
-
Vitality pick Dust2
-
Inferno will be the decider
VitalityLiquid| Vitality |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut |
49 - 26 | +23 | 96.6 | 82.7% | 1.54 |
 Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan |
42 - 36 | +6 | 94.0 | 75.0% | 1.37 |
| Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi |
39 - 30 | +9 | 79.7 | 76.9% | 1.22 |
 William 'mezii' Merriman |
26 - 29 | -3 | 51.8 | 69.2% | 0.90 |
| Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire |
22 - 39 | -17 | 47.1 | 51.9% | 0.69 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
43 - 30 | +13 | 84.9 | 75.0% | 1.24 |
 Justin 'jks' Savage |
35 - 39 | -4 | 84.9 | 71.2% | 1.01 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
34 - 33 | +1 | 70.1 | 67.3% | 1.01 |
 Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
29 - 36 | -7 | 54.0 | 57.7% | 0.80 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
19 - 40 | -21 | 50.0 | 67.3% | 0.67 |
