mousesports pull off comeback vs. Liquid to win ESL One New York

MOUZ have won the 2018 edition of ESL One New York after beating Liquid in a five-map marathon.

The action began on Liquid's map pick, Cache, where they had been on a 7-0 streak since the player break. MOUZ came out the better of the two sides in the first half, though, cruising to a 3-0 lead after storming the A site in the pistol round.

As soon as Liquid had money to work with, however, the complexion of the game changed immediately. Everyone on the North American side started contributing, even Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo, who picked up a crucial triple-kill in the fifth round inside B to prevent the reset.

Liquid went on a six-round winning streak - an onslaught that finally woke MOUZ up. Tomáš "⁠oskar⁠" Šťastný came up huge two rounds in a row to help his team get a hold on the game, with the half ending with a close 8-7 scoreline in the Europeans' favour.

Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken pulled off a sensational 1v4 clutch in the second half pistol to equalise the score for his team, following that up with another quad-kill in an anti-eco. The Canadian starlet was now sitting on 27 frags and looked en route to having a memorable game, but he suddenly went missing, and Liquid lost control of the game.

No-one on the North American team showed up to pick up the slack, and every round won by them was immediately traded by MOUZ, who would lock down the map in convincing fashion to take the lead before heading to their own pick, Nuke.

Next up was Nuke, where MOUZ were on the back foot from the outset as Liquid got out to a 4-0 lead on the CT side. MOUZ replied with a successful a 2v4 after-plant on the lower site and put together a string of rounds, eventually bringing the deficit to a minimum.

Things were starting to look up for MOUZ, but their offense was simply impotent for the remainder of the half, with Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella leading Liquid to an 11-4 lead on the back of his 22 kills.

The 23-year-old IGL/AWPer continued his incredible performance in the second half, pulling off a 1v2 clutch in the pistol round to kick Liquid further into the lead. It was only when they were down 4-15 that MOUZ finally managed to get a couple of rounds on the board - one of them in a 1v2 clutch by Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski, but their defence caved in shortly afterwards.

With the momentum back in their favour, Liquid got off to a dream start on Inferno - their second pick of the series - and strolled to a 7-1 lead on the Terrorist side of map. MOUZ then sorted out their dreadful defence tightened things up, putting up a double AWP setup to work to bring the deficit to a minimum before the North Americans won the final two rounds of the half.

Snax opened up the action in the second half with a 1v2 clutch inside A, but Liquid hit back immediately on a very low buy to regain control of proceedings. The North America side rode that momentum and went on a fantastic run, eventually hitting map point with a 1v3 clutch by Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic.

MOUZ refused to lay down and put together a string of rounds, but their resistance collapsed in the 26th round, when Liquid retook the B site in convincing fashion.

Down 1-2 in the series, MOUZ hoped for a strong Dust2 performance to take the match to a fifth map, but Liquid threw a spanner in the Europeans' plans with a dominant T side. After losing the opening three rounds of the half, MOUZ battled back and brought the deficit to a minimum, but Liquid were in cruise control in the rest of the half as they cruised to an 11-4 lead after shutting down any chances of their opponents stringing rounds together.

Now playing on the Terrorist side, MOUZ attempted to push long in the pistol round but were shut down by Twistzz and Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski as they pushed through the door. It looked like the North Americans had everything under control, but a successful third-round buy put MOUZ back in the game.

Little by little, the European team began to cut the gap, and the pressure started to mount on Liquid's men. A 1v2 clutch by TACO in the 23rd round put his team on 14 rounds, but there was no follow-up as MOUZ went on another great run. Liquid were unwilling to make any unnecessary risks and to commit to rounds any more than they absolutely should, yet they could not prevent mouz from equalising the score at 14-14.

Liquid were then gifted a way back into the game as NAF pulled off a 1v2 clutch on the A site, but MOUZ continued pressing on and forced overtime - in which they would come out victorious with a perfect 3-0 Terrorist half.

It all came down to Mirage, which began with Liquid winning the pistol round and the subsequent anti-ecos for a 3-0 lead. The game then entered a hectic period as eco rounds were traded, with MOUZ eventually coming out on top. Chris "⁠chrisJ⁠" de Jong's side rode that momentum and ran all over the Liquid defence for the rest of the half, limiting the North Americans to just five rounds.

mouz piled more pressure on Liquid after winning the pistol round, but a successful bomb plant in the following round breathed new life into Liquid's players. It would be for nought, though, as the North Americans would lose an anti-eco round shortly afterwards, which left their economy in tatters.

Down 7-14, Liquid got a round on the board after getting their economy back on track, but their hopes were left in tatters by chrisJ, who pulled off a massive ace to put MOUZ on championship point and followed that up with another great individual round to hammer the final nail into the home side's coffin and complete a sensational comeback - one that revitalises the European team after a dismal appearance at the Major.

ESL One New York 2018 final standings:

1. MOUZ - $125,000
2. Liquid - $50,000
3-4. Gambit - $25,000
3-4. NRG - $25,000
5-6. Natus Vincere - $8,500
5-6. G2 - $8,500
7-8. fnatic - $4,000
7-8. FaZe - $4,000