FURIA defeat Liquid to qualify for BLAST Premier Fall Finals

FURIA locked down the series against Liquid on Overpass (13-16), Inferno (16-6) and Mirage (16-9) to secure a spot at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals.

FURIA beat Liquid in a three-map series in their final match of the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown bracket to punch their ticket to the Fall Finals. The two teams have faced off 11 times in 2020, starting a fierce rivalry during the online era in North America that the Brazilians have been able to dominate. This time around they faced off on European soil, and it was Nicholas "⁠guerri⁠" Nogueira's men who once again came out on top, making this the tenth time they beat Liquid this year.

Liquid started out their final BLAST Premier Showdown Series with a strong offense on Overpass, their map pick, taking a 10-5 lead at the half before securing it 16-13 as CTs, but they were quickly and convincingly dismantled by FURIA on Inferno, only scoring six rounds, before falling in the decider map, Mirage, which the Brazilians locked down 16-9.

Following their victory over Liquid, FURIA join the likes of Vitality, Natus Vincere and Astralis at the $425,000 BLAST Premier Fall Finals, which will take place on December 8-13, and where they will also be fighting for a spot in the BLAST Global Finals in January. Liquid, whose appearance at BLAST events this year has come to an end, will start their DreamHack Masters Winter run on Monday, going up against MOUZ.

Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken and Michael "⁠Grim⁠" Wince downed all five FURIA players in the first pistol round on the attacking side of Overpass, and although the Brazilians were able to win the forcebuy, Liquid immediately retaliated and continued to push ahead to a 5-1 lead. A three-kill defense on A by Vinicius "⁠VINI⁠" Figueiredo got his squad back into the game, as they brought it to within one, 4-5, before losing to a fast B play by the terrorists. Liquid then stabilized on the attack and took a hefty 10-5 lead at the half.

Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip and company won the second pistol round but were once again unable to follow it up against FURIA’s forcebuy, after which Andrei "⁠arT⁠" Piovezan’s men linked two more rounds ahead of the first full buy round. Three kills by Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato on B in a 3vs5 turned the tide of the round in his team’s favor, but Grim with three of his own in the following forcebuy kept Liquid ahead as they extended their lead to 13-9. FURIA then bagged a forcebuy of their own and continued to close the gap, with Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles winning a crucial 1vs4 to make it 12-13. With the game all tied up, Twistzz won a crucial 1vs2 clutch to keep his team ahead as Liquid went on to close the map out 16-13.

FURIA were first out of the gate on Inferno, winning three rounds before the first gun round, which they also took after a play on the B site. The Brazilian squad kept charging ahead on the attack, reaching a 7-0 lead before Liquid could finally get on the board with a successful B defense. The South American team didn’t let up, however, and continued to dominate, losing just one more offensive on the way to a 13-2 half-time score.

Liquid wrapped around from long A to B in the second pistol round, planting in a 5vs2 situation to win it, after which they took four rounds to try and build momentum, but were quickly stopped by FURIA, who ended it 16-6 to force a third map.

FURIA carried their momentum over to Mirage, going up 4-0 on the attacking side, but Liquid were able to win a forcebuy round thanks to several aggressive plays across the map. The Brazilian squad didn’t let up, however, and continued to dismantle Liquid’s defense, 8-3. Things finally started to click for the North Americans late in the half, as they managed to bring back to a more palatable 6-9 thanks to several strong defenses by Stewie2K with the AWP.

A crisp three USP kills by KSCERATO got FURIA on double digits, who made it 11-7, but Liquid bought AKs on the third round of the half and claimed their first round as Ts with a B play. THey were quickly brought to a razor-thin margin, though, as FURIA won three rounds in a row to make it 14-7. Liquid tried to mount a comeback in a last ditch effort, but were cut short as FURIA sealed the deal 16-9 to secure a spot in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals.