Liquid dispatch EG to breach into ECS Season 8 playoffs

Liquid secured the first spot in the playoffs of the ECS Season 8 Finals after besting Evil Geniuses 2-0 in Group A's winners' match.

The first winners' match of the ECS Season 8 Finals saw two local sides in Evil Geniuses and Liquid face off for a spot in the playoffs. Having last faced one another in a best-of-three setting at a distant ESL One Cologne, both teams were eager to hop into the server in looks to assert the status of North America's best. Pride on the line, the two sides took to duke it out on Inferno, Dust2 and potentially Mirage.

Liquid kicked off to a successful CT side campaign on their opponents' map pick, Inferno, where an immediate five-round lead was accrued. After failed breach attempts on the B site, Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz employed a wider strategic repertoire, leading to the team's first successful rounds on the offense. Despite a more varied approach to T side executes, Evil Geniuses struggled to get the ball rolling, leading to a disappointing 3-12 half.

Liquid maintained pressure on the T side, as a second pistol round victory eventually allowed the leaders to move towards map point, with the CTs lagging behind faced with a 12-round discrepancy. Evil Geniuses added one to the tally once rifles were in hand, but fell right after as Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's quad got Liquid over the line.

Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip single-handedly ensured continuous momentum for Liquid, as a B site pistol round hold on the CT side of Dust2 translated into an early three-round lead. A rifle round victory gave Evil Geniuses a short burst of inspiration, which was shut down shortly afterward by an M4A4 triple kill from Stewie2K. Success proceeded to be limited and sporadic for EG throughout the remainder of their T campaign, yielding a 5-10 conclusion.

Tarik "⁠tarik⁠" Celik was the saving grace Evil Geniuses needed going into the latter half of Dust2, as a USP-S triple kill fended off a B hit, ensuring early momentum in the form of three round conversions for his team. Liquid erased the wind from their opponents' sails after a force buy went their way, additionally ensuring short-term financial ruin for Evil Geniuses.

Treading on thin ice, the CTs managed to punch in an additional round but were once more found themselves skint, conceding map and series point as a result. Despite the setbacks, Evil Geniuses came ever so close to overtime, bringing the fight to round 30, but a 1v2 clutch from Stewie2K put the lid on Dust2 and the series.