Liquid beat MIBR in first 2020 outing

Liquid have stepped into 2020 on the right foot, beating MIBR 2-0 in their first official match of the year at BLAST Premier Spring Series.

The North American side picked up their first 2020 victory after a not-so-pretty start to the series on MIBR's pick, Vertigo, where they were bailed out of a 6-13 deficit by numerous clutches to win in double overtime, and a dominant finish on Inferno.

Despite amassing the big lead, the Brazilian side were unsuccessful in their efforts to surprise Liquid with the unusual pick, and their long ongoing wrestle with Inferno continues as they have now conceded eight out of the last ten affairs on the map following the convincing loss to Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's team.

With the win, Liquid have earned a spot in Group A's upper final, where they will take on FaZe for a spot at the $750,000 Spring Finals. Meanwhile, MIBR are in danger of elimination as they've dropped to the lower bracket to set up a meeting with Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Vertigo started off firmly in the hands of Liquid, who got off to a great start, with the only round going the Brazilians' way out of the first seven being a 1v2 from their latest addition, Ignacio "⁠meyern⁠" Meyer. MIBR did not let that scare them, as they finally broke through the defenses and dominated the remainder of the first half with an eight-round streak.

Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo looked in great form as his team extended their lead to 13-6 at the beginning of the second half, but the match was far from over as individual heroics kept saving Liquid. 1v2 clutches from Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken, Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic, and nitr0 helped them equalize the scoreline, and while MIBR were the first to reach map point, a key Deagle double from Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski sent the first map to overtime.

The two sides kept trading rounds with neither able to break the other, and it had to be decided in the second set. There, more plays from Liquid's individuals, including NAF's 1v4 bomb plant denial and more clutches from Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip and nitr0 gave the North American side the victory at 22-19.

Things looked dire for the Brazilians when nothing seemed to go right for them at the beginning of Inferno, where Liquid kept exploiting weaknesses on the A bombsite to amass a 10-0 lead on the Terrorist side. MIBR gave themselves a chance with four out of the last five rounds and a forcebuy victory at the start of the second half, but they were ultimately bested in convincing fashion, at 16-9.