Liquid brush aside fnatic in ESL Pro League

The North American giants made light work of their opponents in this one-sided affair.

Liquid got their ESL Pro League Season 13 campaign off to a winning start with an emphatic 2-0 victory over fnatic. The North American team looked a bit shaky at first but took control of proceedings from the midway point of the first half on Overpass and steamrolled their way to victory against a helpless fnatic side that produced another disjointed display.

"It feels amazing," Liquid captain Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo said after the match, highlighting the importance of the result after the disappointing showing in DreamHack Open. "We were apart for a bit, I stayed in Europe while the rest of the team was back home to chill a bit and see their families. It's great to be back with the boys, put in good work and get a solid result in the first match, which we know is very important for this group."

fnatic came out the brighter of the two sides and had the upper hand in the early stages of Overpass, but then Liquid tightened up and managed to finish the half facing only a narrow deficit. The North Americans took the second-half pistol with ease, but they were unable to convert the following round after being caught off-guard by fnatic's Scouts. The Swedish side rode that momentum to an 11-8 lead, but they lost their grip on the game once Liquid had money to work with. Despite a great showing by Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson, who had a 155 ADR on the CT side, fnatic were unable to stop the North Americans from winning eight consecutive rounds to run out comfortable victors.

Liquid picked up where they left off on Overpass, racing to a 6-0 lead on the T side of Vertigo before fnatic finally put their foot down thanks to a clutch from KRIMZ. Following that round came a brief period of respite for the Swedish team, who reduced the deficit to 4-8, but Liquid rallied back in the final stages of the half, with FalleN adding insult to fnatic's injury with a 1v2 clutch just before the break.

Liquid showed no signs of slowing down after the side switch as they added to their lead with a convincing pistol round. fnatic still attempted to respond, but a trio of rounds was all that they could muster before the North Americans locked down the map.