Liquid move step closer to Intel Grand Slam S2 prize with EPL victory

23-6-2019 22:00

Liquid are just one tournament victory away from claiming the $1 million Intel Grand Slam (IGS) Season 2 prize after lifting the ESL Pro League Season 9 trophy.

The North American giants won their third IGS-eligible tournament of the season - after IEM Sydney and DreamHack Masters Dallas - after beating G2 in four maps in the title decider of the EPL Finals, held in Montpellier.

Liquid now have seven $200,000+ ESL and DreamHack events to win their fourth title of the season and claim the $1 million cheque. Their first attempt to scoop the big prize will come in less than two weeks, at ESL One Cologne - which is widely regarded as the most stacked tournament of the year outside of the Majors.

If Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's side come out victorious in Cologne, they will have required just four months to win the prize. The first season ran for nearly 18 months, ending in December 2018 with Astralis' victory at the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals.

Liquid are also confirmed for the following two IGS-eligible tournaments, both of which taking place in the United States: IEM Chicago (July 18-21) and ESL One New York (September 26-29).

Liquid could scoop the $1 million prize at ESL One Cologne, in two weeks

ESL has not yet announced whether the Intel Grand Slam will return for a third edition. The current season began with the IEM Katowice Major, just two months after the end of season one.

Below you can find the list the events that currently comprise the Intel Grand Slam Season 2:

IEM Katowice 2019 - Astralis
IEM Sydney 2019 - Liquid
DreamHack Masters Dallas - Liquid
ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals - Liquid
ESL One Cologne (July 2-7)
IEM Chicago (July 18-21)
ESL One New York (September 26-29)
DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019 (October 1-6)
IEM Beijing (November 2019, dates TBD)
ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals (December 3-8)

For sure! but they will somehow manage to choke like a true NA team LUL

2019-06-23 22:01

40 replies

for

11 replies

sad to see

5 replies

Almost choke by lulquid

2019-06-23 22:02

4 replies

sick game, welcome back G2

2019-06-23 22:06

3 replies

+1 French CS back finally lol

2019-06-23 22:12

2 replies

just another short period and french CS goes to >tier3 again

2019-06-24 22:37

croisants back lul

2019-06-25 11:31

nice try g2!

the 1st wrote: ez i wanted to do a : ez for lulquid :(

2019-06-23 22:03

I would have written ence then but nt

2019-06-23 22:10

1 reply

brother u know .. u write: ez for lulquid not ez lulquid indian brain hurts

2019-06-23 22:20

I love u buddy

2019-06-24 01:36

Ez win lol

Lets go!

expected

ye faze never choke against na team right?

Liquid finally looking strong, shame it had to be with stewie tho

18 replies

What's wrong with stew? Really great player, stop the hate

2019-06-23 22:09

17 replies

only player I could never even force myself to like

2019-06-23 22:16

16 replies

uk cs lol

2019-06-23 22:18

7 replies

great comment coming from Lithuania

6 replies

yes lithuania sucks dick, but who cares

2019-06-23 22:24

so does UK CS, but at least we've got a player in a top 5 team. Don't see how it's relevant to me dislking stewie but k

2019-06-23 22:25

Lol ur fine with smooya, the most toxic player in the UK scene but u can't stand stewie who is 1/4 as toxic? Hypocrisy much?

2019-06-23 22:41

what makes you think it's just his toxicity that bothers me

2019-06-23 23:00

What else would it be? His attitude towards the game is very competitive and it often comes out as toxic. If you have a problem with his performance you are retarded becuase he is a top 10 player in NA of all time. Dare I say, top 5 of all time in NA

2019-06-24 17:29

uh whyd u bring up his country's scene then lmao

2019-06-23 22:33

I understand, for me the one player I cant force myself to like is Magisk

2019-06-23 22:19

I hate that shitter. Oh let me go around and singlehandedly save the fucking round!. Looks too much like a hansel where gla1ve is his gretzel.

2019-06-23 22:21

He's a great player nonetheless and liquid deserve this win, I'm happy for them. g2 didn't deserve it one bit

2019-06-23 22:34

Ye man, Magisk and Gla1ve are the ones that make me to dislike astralis. device, dupreh, zonic and spn9ux(how do you type that name) are quite cool guys.

2019-06-23 22:51

2019-06-24 05:28

Coz you can't predict Stewie.

He is an absolute trash

2019-06-24 00:35

nt peanut brain sup bish

2019-06-24 22:45

FaZe Fan

Just like FaZe choked against C9

2019-06-23 22:13

Genau brudi. Das wird dann wohl der Tag sein, an dem du bei deinen Eltern ausziehst. The day that never comes

Furia will win the next 4 tournaments, liquid tried :/

2019-06-24 01:46

This would be the ultimate choke though. losing 7 tournaments in a row when you only need 1 to win double major money

2019-06-24 14:51

Liquid era incoming?

8 replies

Until there's some official definition of what constitutes a CS:GO era, you can just go ahead and declare that you already think they have one.

Nah, it is too soon. If they continue this streak of placing 1st at premier events, and always placing highly without any team truly rivaling them with consistency then we can call it an era. I say an era has to last at least 6 to 9 months minimum.

Yea! They need the grand slam first! 4 events in a row boys!

2019-06-23 22:44

I feel like if they get grand slam, and keep their form and then get the major then maybe we're talking.

2019-06-24 02:11

Cologne is going to give us an even better idea of where liquid is at. That is the most stacked field I have seen in ANY csgo tournament for a very long time. Will be fun!

2019-06-24 06:01

I don't think they necessarily NEED to win a major, NiP didn't get their major title until after their era ended, and SK had their era after their two major wins. I do think that getting the Grand Slam, the Major, or Cologne would certainly be a step in the right direction, if not making it official.

2019-06-24 07:13

If they win the major, it’s an era.

2019-06-24 03:48

mebe

ez for the #1 team in the world

EZ ? Lmao, 3-1 againt a T2 team and a very close game on inferno and D2 ? EZ ?

French fan big mad

2019-06-23 22:11

14-1 against former #1 team,why not EZ?

Cry is free

2019-06-24 01:07

3-1 only droped one map therefore ez

2019-06-27 13:33

What if Liquid or Astralis win all of those tournaments? THen only 2 teams will compete? XD

wat if ENCE beats dem oll

Liquid - Astralis play paper rock scissors - winner goes straight to final, loser has to play ENCE and if wins goes to final

One of the best series this year, enjoyed it gg to both teams

Indeed!

2019-06-23 22:04

ez pz

nice

NA #1 POGGERS

Astralis who ????

Liquid Era best era

era is real. Deal with it

Its been 3 months since major and they've been the most active team. You need to learn to chill and wait a few more months

Expect navi, we have seen everyone.

2019-06-23 22:26

And ? Era implies a duration parameters.. Sorry but 3 monthes is no era and they just recently won the 1st place. Don't forget they lost 4 maps against Vitality at the same tournament not so long ago. Let them dominate for 6-9 more monthes, and more importantly win a major then we will talk.

2019-06-24 00:39

In a tournament where vitality over prepared and liquid under prepared

2019-06-27 13:34

This game could have been a 3-1 in favor of G2 so easily So do not let the map count fool you. This was such a hard fought victory for Liquid but I am proud of them and G2!

Very well said! It was such a great match to watch.

An intelligent comment on this website ! Very appreciate.

2019-06-24 00:15

+1 , GG to Liquid they finally cemented their legitimacy as the #1 team in the world

2019-06-24 00:40

It was a great encounter, both teams offered nice CS. G2 keep up the work you guys progressing and showed good spirits. Liquid bravo you sure deserve being considered among the best teams ! I hope G2 and Vita will soon dispute Top 5. Thank you for theses good times both teams!

2019-06-24 08:39

CHOKE2 lost 1v2 and 1v3 LUL

If you got 5 of EU's best players and let them bootcamp for 6 months they would still struggle to beat a PUG of 5 random NA DMG's

Man that bait, including a fan of DADDY IS POTENT. That's some try hard trolling.

-1/8

2019-06-23 22:23

this has got to be the worst bait ive seen in months

Wtf is this shit?

2019-06-23 22:45

so basically u r saying that this team would lose against NA DMG??? s1mple NiKo glaive zywoo Xyp9x

2019-06-23 23:19

Nvm remove glaive and xyp9x. Those 3 could probably win NA EPL 3v5.

2019-06-23 23:24

Hahahaha so true

2019-06-24 00:41

Ez for NA

okj

Grats liquid, deserved I guess

2019-06-23 22:05

LETS GO LIQUID!

Vitality is best team in the world its totally confirmed after this tour.

2 EZ FOR NAVI

2019-06-23 22:07

Choke astralis

If Nick "nitr0" Cannella's side come out victorious in Cologne, they will have required just four months to win the prize.

2019-06-23 22:08

So for Intel G S Liquid has to win only Esl one Cologne or any other tournaments too?

2019-06-23 22:15

It won't be easy though, everyone will be in Cologne won't they ?

2019-06-24 00:45

Every1 was in epl9 finals. But Liquid rekt all Of them

2019-06-24 07:29

Yeah sure , ever heard of NaVi, ENCE and Vitality ???

2019-06-24 09:38

liquid never lost navi bo3 2018-2019 liquid last time rekt ence bo3 zywootality fluke team liquid can beat easily him

2019-06-24 10:52

GG Team Liquid ! So sad for G2 (fk this 1 hp...), but they gave their best and I hope they can replicate this type of performance in the future.

If they won't win Cologne or Chicago - it's done for them actually, i'm pretty sure of it.

Why? NY is always the least stacked IGS event.

The other teams won't let them do that. Liquid are not that strong as Astralis in 2018, i would even say they are not even close to Astralis 2018. Other teams have a great chance of beating Liquid. And EPL showed that perfectly.

2019-06-24 16:23

No one has to liquid win, they will take that victory anyway lol. TL 2stronk

2019-06-24 23:07

They will end like faze, 3 wins and still dont get it xD

Man they’re rich...

Great match

yyyy ... where is a major at this list ? can someone explain me ?

The major is not by ESL. Its by starladder. Therefore its not part of the ESL grand slam.

2019-06-23 22:49

Aaaaaaaa ... Thanks

ENCE, Liquid or FURIA, one of those will win the next major.

FURIA?? LUL

What about NaVi with boomich ? Astralis ?? Vitality ??? People are writing teams off way too fast LUL

2019-06-24 00:49

He's brazilian obviously will write furia. You're french onviously write vitality. The only other team that can win is navi but no one has seen them play with boombl4

2019-06-24 12:38

Although i am a supporter of g2 ( shox in real ) I am actually sad g2 got to the finals of this event . Because now they will eventually stick with this lineup, which is of no use for french cs in the long run . Coz everyone knows lucky is not meant to play at this level . This is high time for shox and kenny ,if they really wanna win something they have to keep their ego aside and make one or two changes in the lineup .. -lucky +scream .. Now people will say scream jst has aim ...but well he always had aim yet g2 did well with him even after having smithzz and bodyy . You need aimers and high gamesense player to win at this level . And scream has great experience to play against such teams , he's not doing good now because he's constantly switching teams ..the amount of chance lucky got ...if given to scream you will see more then jst one taps .

It's not ez win but so damn excited win

hope G2 gonna denie the 1million in a rematch in Chicago

2019-06-23 22:53

What about NA'VI

2019-06-23 23:51

ez 4 twistzz

2019-06-24 00:13

"Liquid are also confirmed for the following two IGS-eligible tournaments, both of which taking place in the United States: IEM Chicago (July 18-21) and ESL One New York (September 26-29)." Should be following three, given they'll also go to Cologne

2019-06-24 06:16