Liquid best NRG to maintain flawless record in LA; MIBR and Cloud9 tie on Mirage

Liquid maintain a flawless record in BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles after defeating NRG 16-9 on Overpass, meanwhile MIBR and Cloud9 tied 15-15 on Mirage.

NRG kicked Overpass off with a successful T-side start, securing the crucial first pistol of the map. This created space for Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz and his men to develop an early 3-0 lead. Upon securing rifles, Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski and Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic landed a double kill each, snatching the momentum into their team's hands, and after a further two victories, facilitated for an immediate 3-3 equaliser. The squad further pushed to a seven-round lead by converting the following four, highlighted by a spectacular AWP quad kill from Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella. In conclusion of the initial half, NRG restabilised and let but a single additional round slip in the remainder of the half at 7-8.

EliGE was the deciding factor in the second pistol round, as a Glock triple kill gave his team a much-needed boost going into the latter half. Off the back of this early success, Liquid amassed a further two rounds, gradually increasing the round discrepancy once again. NRG were able to put up a single digit once rifles were in hand, but struggled in the following four, allowing their adversaries map point on Overpass. Liquid took no chances, and after conceding a single additional round, closed out their second match of the tournament with a 16-9 score.

Over on the B stream, Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga opened the CT side of Mirage with a USP-s triple kill, ensuring early momentum for his team. Cloud9 were able to produce a round with their first buy, but lacked longevity in their pursuit, allowing the Brazilian squad to further their position to a 4-1 lead. After a slight back-and-forth, Cloud9 finally found their footing, as the North America-majority roster not only went on to come back from their initial deficit, but ended up closing the half with a 9-6 lead.

A consecutive pistol round victory, this time on the T side, allowed MIBR a dash towards a 10-9 lead, in spite of Cloud9's attempts to fend off the aggressors. The tides shifted in round 20, as a pivotal victory on Cloud9's part gave the newly-formed team the confidence needed to close out the following five rounds, placing the squad two short of closing out the map. The two sides exchanged blows, leading to map point for Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele and company, but the North American representatives were subsequently unable to close out, allowing MIBR a tie.