What to expect from Liquid v. Vitality

Liquid and Vitality will go head-to-head in the third of four quarterfinal matchups at ESL Pro League Season 21 Playoffs.

Vitality are on an eight-match winning streak, while Liquid scraped by the second stage of EPL with a 3-2 record.

Will Liquid play David in this matchup?

This is Liquid's first playoff appearance in 2025 and they arguably couldn't have come up against a more formidable opponent. Liquid found a way to make playoffs at EPL, but they still haven't done anything to inspire a considerable amount of confidence in this matchup versus Vitality.

• Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak needs to continue his good form. The Polish sniper is leading the way for Liquid at this event with a 1.17 rating and +39 K/D difference.

• Liquid need to pick and win on Anubis. It's their home map and given Vitality's perma-ban is Ancient, they should have an opportunity to play Anubis.

• They need to try to keep Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut quiet. And no one has really done that since Vitality's last loss - against Eternal Fire at BLAST Bounty in January.

Vitality are aiming to go back-to-back

Vitality are in the best form of any team in the world. They wiped the floor with top-ranked Spirit at their last event, winning the final at IEM Katowice by a resounding 3-0 scoreline.

• Vitality will try to activate ZywOo. When he plays well, Vitality win matches. It's that simple.

• Vitality can flex their map pool here. They haven't lost on four of the six different maps that they've played in the past three months.

• Dan "apEX" Madesclaire needs to call rings around Liquid IGL Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken. apEX is the more experienced leader and one of the best callers in the world - if not the very best at this moment.

Previous matchups

These cores have faced off in three matches. Vitality hold a 3-0 record with a 6-2 map count over Liquid.

Likely vetos

Liquid don't have a permanent ban, which is about the only thing that plays into their favor, as they can target one of Vitality's stronger maps. That's where Liquid's advantages end, there will be three maps for Vitality to choose from that they haven't lost in the past three months. This is how we speculate the veto may go.

• Vitality ban Ancient (it's their perma-ban)

• Liquid ban Nuke (it's typically Vitality's first pick, but don't be surprised if Dust2 is banned here)

• Vitality pick Dust2 (or Nuke, if D2 is banned)

• Liquid pick Anubis (it's their home map and one of Vitality's weakest maps)

• Vitality ban Inferno (it's a strong map for them, but also Liquid's only other good map)

• Liquid ban Train (they ban this map often when given the chance)

• Mirage is left over

This would probably give Liquid the best chance of winning. Liquid are ok on D2 but it strongly favors Vitality. Vitality are 1-3 on Anubis in the past three months, giving Liquid a chance to either take the series to a third map or win 2-0, depending on the result of the first map. Mirage would favor Vitality, should the series go that far.

Vitality could throw a curveball by floating Ancient and banning Anubis. Liquid aren't that great on the green map so the odds of a punish pick are low. If that happens, expect Liquid to pick Inferno, although that's an excellent map for Vitality.