ESL One: Road to Rio - North AmericaLiquid ease past 100 Thieves to set up semi-final clash against FURIA
Liquid took down 100 Thieves in the quarter-finals of the North American ESL One: Road to Rio division, securing wins on Mirage and Vertigo to set up a semi-final clash against FURIA.
Liquid added yet another win to their tally against 100 Thieves, who have yet to notch a series win over the North American roster since the addition of Jake "Stewie2K" Yip. Strong showings from Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken and Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski were the catalysts in Liquid's victory this time around, with the Canadian star putting up a strong performance on Mirage before EliGE took control of Vertigo to close out the series.
Liquid came into the series guns blazing, setting a feverish pace on the Terrorist side of Mirage to take initial control. A pair of AWP quad kills from Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai were the sole saving grace for 100 Thieves early on, granting the Australian squad two crucial rounds as Liquid pushed up to an 8-3 scoreline by battering the CTs. Three AWP frags from Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas gave his side a chance to get back on the board, with 100 Thieves utilizing the win to convert much of the remaining rounds in the half, posting six by the break.
Unfortunately for Aaron "AZR" Ward's troops, their pistol round victory following the side swap was swiftly replied to by the Deagles of Stewie2K and Twistzz, the pair of whom recovered a 2vs4 to swing momentum back in the favour of Liquid. From there, 100 Thieves were given few opportunities to chip away at the deficit, mustering just one additional round before Liquid closed out their map pick.
Stewie2K kept his team in control as Vertigo got underway, taking three to kick off the map. Abuse of Liquid's A defense allowed 100 Thieves to secure four in a row to gain the lead, but it was quickly lost as multi-kills from Nick "nitr0" Cannella saw Liquid answer back with three of their own for a 6-4 scoreline. AZR and Gratisfaction combined to grant 100 Thieves another three rounds in a row and put their team in control once again, yet by the end of the half it was Liquid who edged out a one-round lead.
EliGE came to life as Liquid kicked off their offensive effort, immediately adding another three to their tally. A triple kill from Justin "jks" Savage aided 100 Thieves in their effort to fight back, with the Australians taking two for an 11-9 scoreline in Liquid's favour. However, the combined rifling of EliGE and Twistzz proved too strong in the ensuing rounds as Liquid prevailed in each post-plant situation, allowing them to close out the series in quick fashion with a 16-10 map win.
 Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 - 33 | +7 | 102.7 | 72.0% | 1.38 | |
| 39 - 25 | +14 | 71.4 | 78.0% | 1.19 | |
| 35 - 31 | +4 | 68.5 | 72.0% | 1.13 | |
| 32 - 32 | 0 | 68.0 | 76.0% | 1.08 | |
| 30 - 28 | +2 | 67.4 | 80.0% | 1.04 |
  100 Thieves |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 - 37 | -3 | 76.9 | 64.0% | 1.06 | |
| 33 - 32 | +1 | 76.9 | 68.0% | 1.06 | |
| 28 - 39 | -11 | 71.7 | 72.0% | 0.92 | |
| 24 - 34 | -10 | 58.8 | 68.0% | 0.83 | |
| 29 - 34 | -5 | 57.0 | 62.0% | 0.81 |
The semi-finals will kick off on Friday, when Damian "daps" Steele's Gen.G will go up against Cloud9. The schedule for the upcoming matches look as follows:
Friday, May 8 |
Gen.G vs.
Saturday, May 9 |FURIA vs.
Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek
Hansel 'BnTeT' Ferdinand
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