Liquid clinch playoff berth over Na`Vi; mousesports eliminate MVP PK in Cologne

Liquid have secured their place in the playoffs with a 2-1 victory against Natus Vincere, while MOUZ defeated MVP PK 2-0 to eliminate the Korean team at ESL One Cologne.

Natus Vincere squared off against Liquid in the Group A upper-bracket semis and the series commenced on Dust2. Following T-sided Liquid's clean sweep in the pistol round, Natus Vincere hit back with Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov's triple kill with the Scout (1-1).

Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski brought Liquid back into the game in the sixth round by winning a 1vs2, stopping Natus Vincere's four-round run. The North Americans trailed 9-6 after a back and forth first half. Despite losing the second pistol, Liquid came back with a four-round streak to equalize (10-10).

Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev won a 1vs1 to reclaim his team's lead and they took three more to make it 14-10. The CIS team could have wrapped up the map in the 27th round but Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella clutched a 1vs3 after s1mple tried to knife him (15-12). That error cost Natus Vincere dearly as Liquid managed to take it to overtime. Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip closed out the game with a 1vs2 clutch in second overtime, winning 22-19.

Liquid got off to a good start on Overpass, where they led 7-4 on the T-side. s1mple's 1vs2 clutch in the 12th round initiated a four-round Natus Vincere streak and the CIS side finished the half 8-7 ahead.

Na`Vi picked up the first five rounds in the second half, extending their lead to 13-7. s1mple clutched a 1vs1 with low HP in the 24th round as his team earned six map points. The CIS squad found success on their final attempt, taking the 16-14 map victory.

Liquid dominated the early proceedings on Mirage, where they started on the T-side and led 10-2 after Stewie2K's 1vs3 victory in the 12th round. Natus Vincere responded by winning the last three rounds of the half, trailing 10-5.

The North American team suffered defeat in the second pistol round but recouped swiftly as they won the following round, leading 11-6. Liquid won the map 16-8 and finished off the series 2-1, punching their ticket to the playoffs.

The Group A lower-bracket series between MOUZ and MVP PK kicked off on Vertigo, where the CT-sided Europeans secured the first two rounds. Hae-Sung "⁠HSK⁠" Kim and Hyun-Pyo "⁠XigN⁠" Lee clutched a 2vs4 to win the third round but MOUZ responded with an eight-round streak, reaching double-digits (10-1).

Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company grabbed the final three rounds in the first half to lead 13-2. Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool picked up a triple kill in a 2vs4 to win the second pistol round, making it 14-2. MOUZ earned 13 map points by winning the following round and closed out the game with a 16-8 score.

ropz opened up Inferno with a triple kill in the pistol round and the T-sided MOUZ made it 3-0 with two more round victories. MVP PK answered back by taking three rounds in a row but the Europeans won eight of the following nine to lead 11-4 at halftime. MOUZ finished off the map with a 16-6 scoreline and won the series 2-0. With this defeat, MVP PK have been eliminated from the event.