NRG outclass Liquid to go 2-0 in Berlin

Liquid endured an upset defeat to fellow North American side NRG, who are the first team through to the 2-0 pool of teams in the StarLadder Major's New Legends Stage.

NRG showed the potential of their star-studded line-up as they inflicted Liquid their first defeat since the 13-16 loss to North at the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. The Intel Grand Slam Season 2 champions looked well off the pace on Dust2 - a map where upsets tend to happen quite often -, and there are very few positives for them to take from a game that could have had an even worse scoreline for them had Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski not come to the team's rescue towards the end of the first half.

A quad-kill by Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella with a USP made for a promising start for Liquid, but NRG replied in the blink of an eye with a successful force-buy and began to grind out rounds. The current No.1 team in the world struggled to keep up with the pace set by their opponents and were often forced into saves after losing a bombsite, leading to a tactical pause at 1-7.

Liquid improved after that timeout and tightened up their defense, with EliGE leading the charge. The 22-year-old put in 19 frags and averaged 116 damage per round to help the team to secure a respectable 6-9 scoreline.

After switching over to the Terrorist side, Liquid won a much-needed pistol round, but just like in the first half there would be no follow-up on their part as Ethan "⁠Ethan⁠" Arnold wreaked havoc with three quick kills with the Five-SeveN. After getting their economy stabilised, Liquid began to chip away at NRG's lead, but their efforts were in vain. Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov was a joy to watch as he led his team to a convincing victory, one that will certainly give Liquid's players some food for thought as they chase their first Major crown.