Liquid secure final EPL S17 playoff spot over Astralis

Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's men recovered from an early trip down to the lower bracket to make the playoffs of ESL Pro League.

Liquid are through to the playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 17 after dispatching of Astralis in the last chance bracket of Group D, sending the Danish team packing from the event following wins on Nuke (16-8) and Mirage (16-12).

nitr0 and company had a rocky start to their run in Malta, dropping their opening series to Rare Atom and then dropping to the last chance stage after faltering to Spirit in the lower bracket. Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis pointed towards poor practice opportunities coming into the tournament as one of the reasons the team struggled upon arriving at EPL, but the triple-elimination format gave them enough time to warmup into the tournament and make it through to the playoffs.

YEKINDAR came alive on Mirage to help his team secure victory

Liquid's 0-13 record on Nuke versus the Astralis core of Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz, Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth, and Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander painted a grim picture for the North American team heading into the series, but with years gone by since the cores last clashed, it was up for debate whether the Danes would be able to extend their dominant streak.

Early into the map, it indeed looked like Astralis would hold their ground; a triple kill from Xyp9x gave the Danes a victory in the pistol round, and they wasted little time in converting that into a 3-0 lead on the T side. However, their edge rapidly dwindled from that point onward, and they failed to get back into the lead as Liquid remained a step ahead on the defense. Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic and Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski repeatedly put a halt to Astralis attempts to split A or convert smoke walls into lower site hits, and Liquid pushed up to a 7-4 scoreline before Astralis finally were able to respond.

Even that response left much to be desired, though, with gla1ve and company only stringing together three more rounds before Liquid secured the last of the half to narrowly pull ahead at the break. The second half marked a complete capitulation from Astralis as Liquid wasted no time in cruising to a 16-8 finish, conceding just one round en route to victory thanks to consistently better executes and decision-making in midrounds.

It looked as if Astralis could change the conversation surrounding the series as they got off to a hot start on Mirage, posting a stalwart defensive streak of rounds to start the map. Consistent grenade damage against YEKINDAR and a lock-out of bombsites allowed the Danish team to post a 8-1 lead, only for Liquid to finally find a solution and run back four rounds in a row, helped by a post-plant triple kill by YEKINDAR. Astralis remained firmly in the driver's seat, however, adding the last two rounds of the half to their tally for a 10-5 lead, and further adding to that with a pistol round victory following the side swap for a strong start to their T side.

Despite being in pole position to force a third map, Astralis again completely capitulated from that point; a force-buy in round 17 allowed Liquid to gain the upper hand, and the North American side were indomintable on the CT side for the remainder of the map. Astralis' uninspired T side, consisting of weak map control in middle and poor midrounds, left much to be desired, and Liquid cruised to a 16-12 finish to eliminate the Danish team from EPL playoff contention.

Matchpage
2
0
19th March 2023
16
Nuke
8
16
Mirage
12
 Liquid K - D +/- ADR KAST Rating2.0
42 - 31 +11 82.2 84.6% 1.27
42 - 33 +9 81.6 76.9% 1.27
31 - 23 +8 61.7 76.9% 1.12
35 - 26 +9 72.3 73.1% 1.12
31 - 32 -1 70.4 78.8% 1.08
 Astralis K - D +/- ADR KAST Rating2.0
29 - 36 -7 79.1 65.4% 0.99
33 - 37 -4 73.8 67.3% 0.97
31 - 36 -5 65.1 61.5% 0.95
28 - 36 -8 53.6 63.5% 0.77
21 - 36 -15 44.2 57.7% 0.61
United States Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski
Age:
25
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.08
Maps played:
1716
KPR:
0.75
DPR:
0.68
Denmark Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander
Age:
27
Team:
Rating 1.0:
0.98
Maps played:
1800
KPR:
0.66
DPR:
0.66
United States Nick 'nitr0' Cannella
Nick 'nitr0' Cannella
Age:
27
Team:
Rating 1.0:
0.99
Maps played:
1503
KPR:
0.66
DPR:
0.66
Canada Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Age:
25
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.09
Maps played:
1677
KPR:
0.72
DPR:
0.63
Denmark Nicolai 'device' Reedtz
Nicolai 'device' Reedtz
Age:
27
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.16
Maps played:
1842
KPR:
0.78
DPR:
0.62
Denmark Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth
Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth
Age:
27
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.01
Maps played:
2093
KPR:
0.66
DPR:
0.62
Latvia Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Age:
23
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.07
Maps played:
1207
KPR:
0.74
DPR:
0.70
W
2023-03-19 22:40
0
3 replies
oSee 9-4 Device in duels 6-0 in awp kills
2023-03-19 22:48
0
2 replies
#20
 | 
Brazil omigodi
Crazy
2023-03-19 22:51
0
somewhat common osee W
2023-03-20 00:27
0
#2
 | 
United States revokefps
ez astralis locked gla1ve and xyp9x until 2025 I don't see them making deep runs unless they replace the players before contract expiration
2023-03-19 22:41
0
1 reply
no way they get rid off glaive
2023-03-20 00:50
0
#3
 | 
Israel idan)
2023-03-19 22:41
0
3 replies
Meanwhile Navi 19 in a row
2023-03-19 22:48
0
1 reply
NaVi have a very high skill floor, no matter how shit they can look.
2023-03-20 07:28
0
expected, until baiF baiting for stats, xyp9x unable to shoot and gla1ve playing like karrigan this will never work
2023-03-19 23:01
0
#4
 | 
Europe Putin69
This is crazy mens))
2023-03-19 22:41
0
#5
 | 
Romania RBK_GOD
18-19 times gone
2023-03-19 22:41
0
#6
Faceit level 10  | 
United Kingdom kennyvenom
Buzz isn’t good enough, this lineup with k0nfig would have been semi-decent. Some of those calls on mirage seemed strange. Making entry frags and then rotating the entire map and getting picked off along the way to lose.
2023-03-19 22:41
0
2 replies
#35
kz | 
Georgia pandorra
Can't believe that the guy whose 1st ever tier 1 round was him getting ace against vitality, fell off this hard.
2023-03-20 00:45
0
1 reply
#61
 | 
Afghanistan top5rifler
He does good work in pistol rounds, but there was nothing to fall off from. He was bad in that match too.
2023-03-20 07:58
0
Unlucky
2023-03-19 22:42
0
i dont see -elige threads, where are they? Respect GOAT NA Rifler
2023-03-19 22:43
0
12 replies
+1
2023-03-19 22:46
0
+1
2023-03-19 22:49
0
HE had good game vs tier3 team NOICE
2023-03-19 23:02
0
#28
 | 
Poland luxurS
god elige fck yeah
2023-03-19 23:36
0
+1
2023-03-20 01:16
0
Tbf real liquid fan know his potentials, but he is really inconsistent. At least, his diva moment shake him a bit. Osee recent performance is lowkey too. Haters will look at his rating and ask for an overated t2 awpers (like regali) but he really improves as an awper recently. He litteraly owns device today.
2023-03-20 04:37
0
3 replies
#62
 | 
Afghanistan top5rifler
Yeah osee is getting better
2023-03-20 07:59
0
osee has mechanics of m0nesy but he is inconsistent
2023-03-20 15:25
0
1 reply
Yeah he doesn't have his gamesense, you have to be honnest.
2023-03-20 17:28
0
vs astralis lmao
2023-03-20 15:16
0
2 replies
yes versus astralis, the team that made liquid their own bitch
2023-03-20 15:18
0
1 reply
well atleast the first part of name checks out
2023-03-20 16:42
0
There's an obvious problem in Astralis when it comes to this squad. Buzz is entry, Blame is lurk, Xyp is support and Device is AWP... and what does Glaive do? IGL by itself is not a role in the team. The only thing left for him is to be the trade fragger, which is usually given to the star riflers. Imo Glaive and his role is the biggest issue in this team. You can either just exchange him with a rifler and make Blame igl, or you can -buzz or -xyp and make Glaive take their role instead.
2023-03-19 22:43
0
2 replies
#30
 | 
Indonesia ivanovky
yes indeed, Glaive as IGL should be support and rotator, -xyp replace with superstar riffler. xyp now not like xyp when he was clutch minister.
2023-03-19 23:43
0
1 reply
Xyp is a dinosaur at this point. I understand the respect Astralis has for everything he did. But keep him around the team not on the server at this point.
2023-03-20 09:43
0
We are back
2023-03-19 22:45
0
2 replies
#36
kz | 
Georgia pandorra
delusional danish fanboys and cheater hunden supporters back to their caves
2023-03-20 00:48
0
1 reply
#63
 | 
Afghanistan top5rifler
+1
2023-03-20 08:00
0
#12
 | 
Costa Rica Wham!
Gg liquid. Y'all going out early in playoffs LMAO
2023-03-19 22:46
0
5 replies
#15
 | 
Russia monkasam
now say it without crying
2023-03-19 22:47
0
3 replies
W
2023-03-19 22:54
0
#50
Faceit premium user Faceit level 10  | 
 | 
United States Icemann3031
W
2023-03-20 03:26
0
W
2023-03-20 13:08
0
#51
 | 
United States lGalaxiuml
2023-03-20 03:37
0
#13
 | 
Russia monkasam
ez dub
2023-03-19 22:47
0
Not even close. The Danes are huffing some serious copium tonight ahahaha
2023-03-19 22:47
0
3 replies
Nice job taking 'em down
2023-03-19 22:56
0
1 reply
anytime brother!
2023-03-19 23:31
0
#38
kz | 
Georgia pandorra
I see no comments with danish flag in this thread LMAO. i guess cheater hunden and paycheck stealer dev1ce supporters are back to their caves.
2023-03-20 00:52
0
#19
 | 
United States McBubba
For those saying Liquid will go out early, remember they barely made it into playoffs last EPL. They ended up placing second and almost winning the whole damn thing. #LetsGoLiquid
2023-03-19 22:50
0
#21
 | 
France jtwascs
Yekindar owns mid on mirage
2023-03-19 22:52
0
#24
 | 
United States Apocasy
Bye bye Midstralis
2023-03-19 23:01
0
#29
 | 
Poland luxurS
where is "-elige"? ez
2023-03-19 23:37
0
1 reply
im waiting for the next game they lose to say that.
2023-03-20 03:07
0
#31
Faceit level 8  | 
DZ | 
Algeria SilverQuick
Astraluls make Hunden resign before its too late that guy is bad luck wtf are they thinking? can't find better? what a shit org and shit team tbh, they are insulting their glorious past and memories, get smoked.
2023-03-19 23:43
0
BaitF cant do shit on t side
2023-03-19 23:45
0
BaitF fails against t1 teams
2023-03-20 00:23
0
1 reply
#39
kz | 
Georgia pandorra
blame is insanely good if his teammates live long enough so he can lurk or bait but he can't do shit if there's no one to bait xd
2023-03-20 00:54
0
#42
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
United States Gonginator
I'm honestly a bit surprised Astralis didn't beat Liquid lol. This was probably the best and only chance that Astralis had to beat Liquid. Liquid won, but it wasn't in dominating fashion. Astralis got 12 rounds on Mirage which was a close game. Astralis is probably almost the Danish equivalent of EG where the organization is just making bad decision after bad decision. Get rid of gla1ve and get a new, invigorated IGL. Replace xyp9x with a better rifler. STOP RECYCLING OLD PLAYERS WHO HAVE PEAKED A LONG TIME AGO, They're not trash, but they're definitely not up to par right now for Tier 1 players. Buzz isn't main problem, but he does lack consistency. One could argue that he just needs more time, but regardless I'd rather give new blood a chance than keeping washed up pros who are past their prime.
2023-03-20 01:21
0
7 replies
Thank you for a sane american comment. There's still hope :)
2023-03-20 10:18
0
2 replies
#71
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
United States Gonginator
I try to be sane. I was a former Cloud9 fan and have been a Liquid fan for years. Just because my favorite teams don't win, that doesn't mean I don't support other teams. I'd hope that others support teams from different regions, not just their own region.
2023-03-20 12:38
0
1 reply
Exactly!! That's how it supposed to be 😊😊
2023-03-20 12:47
0
#74
 | 
Germany ddonkey
Astralis should have won mirage. They threw that away
2023-03-20 13:07
0
3 replies
#87
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
United States Gonginator
I'm with you on that one. I seriously expected Astralis to destroy Liquid because of how bad Liquid have been playing recently (okay, not too bad, but definitely lower than their own standards).
2023-03-21 05:04
0
2 replies
#88
 | 
Germany ddonkey
i didnt. i thought: 1-1 (even after we lost nuke), and then depends on inferno if device went off
2023-03-21 15:06
0
1 reply
#91
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
United States Gonginator
I really want device and blameF to succeed. Ever since there were rumors about device coming back to CSGO, I've been hoping that he would just destroy everyone like he did before. I mean he's staying at the top of the scoreboard with blameF so I suppose he's not doing terrible.
2023-03-22 01:30
0
#43
 | 
Europe Lumbagor
Lets keep xyp astralis xD
2023-03-20 01:22
0
Common EliGE W. RIP in piss bozo asstrails you wont be missed.
2023-03-20 02:15
0
dev0.94ce buhahahahaha
2023-03-20 02:44
0
#46
 | 
United States GiantDays
very nice
2023-03-20 02:52
0
#48
 | 
Brazil Anarchybr
Astralis lacks of firepower, they need to get rid of either xyp9xz or Gla1ve
2023-03-20 03:10
0
#49
 | 
United States PhilMC
W
2023-03-20 03:23
0
Imagine signing new young "0.61 talent" who can't even outperform bot minister hahaha. Gla1ve goat IGL my ass, one roster wonder who was just going with the flow of core trio dupreeh, device and xyp9x in their prime, any half decent IGL would be winning with that trio around 2018-2019. Mark my words overrated gla1ve will never win any tier1 event with other roster.
2023-03-20 03:44
0
7 replies
1. Do you really think Glaive ask for Buzz ? Astralis was aiming for staehr. Buzz is the consolidation price. 2. Winning 4 major trophies, he is a goat IGL. He is now washed, but after winning 4 majors, maybe the motivation is not there. 3. Buzz is not t1, but he should have more than 0.61 rating. EcoF steals all eco frags and buzz is an entry, he should farm it. 4. Try to guess BlameF rating without eco frags. No wonder this team suck. No team can win with EgoF. The whole team suck.
2023-03-20 04:33
0
6 replies
If motivation isn’t there that is one more reason for kick plus situation is always not perfect, as IGL you have to work with cards you have and not crying for the best players in their position like karrigan did with mouz when he got kicked from Faze. Fact gla1ve managed to be successful with just one line-up exposed him as mediocre IGL you can’t rate IGL based just on their highs of 1-2 years, when speaking about GOAT status you have to take the whole picture. Four major argument is just so stupid that just proves Astralis is potentialy GOAT team because they worked well as unit, but gla1ve as player as IGL no way, since he has won ZERO trophies outside dupreeh, device, xyp9x, argument could be held if he played for Astralis for 10 years and won twice more trophies than 2nd IGL in that regard, but that is not true. By your logic dev1ce is GOAT awper and one of dupreeh, magisk and xyp9x GOAT rifler.
2023-03-20 09:24
0
5 replies
Aleksib fraud confirmed he couldnt even archiwve with 1 rosyer what glaive did and now just paycheck stealing ever since. Ty for confirmation. Btw if igls or players followed stupid opinions like this then karrigan and etc wouldn't won 1 major or katowice etc and would be retired alrdy.
2023-03-20 12:07
0
4 replies
What in the actual f… did I just read?
2023-03-21 18:28
0
3 replies
2 spelling errors and brain cann9t configure sentences anymore? Should of went school or learn some problem solving cause there could be 100 words in row with grammar errors and would still as quickly understand someone mistakes. Not my fault ur special needed and neex it perfect i aint got time all day to grammar check only cause u lazy to use ur brain for more then 2% capacity and that guaranteed cause norwegians are good at English.
2023-03-21 19:37
0
2 replies
Stopped reading at "cann9t" Mr. Impeccable Grammar. Sorry I am also struggling to understand "archiwve, rosyer, alrdy" from your previous comment, but now it's at least hilarious after your little grammar flex. Imagine kid flexing with his "gRaMmAr" on hltv who can't even write properly and check his own comments for autist typos. Anyway rest of your comment is probably worthless just as you are, loser who is ashamed of his own country so he has to use EU flag. btw "what in the actual fuck" is commonly used, so go and stick your formal english with two typos in four words up your ass fifth grader, keep it nice and warm since it's obviously the only thing you are proud of in your low life
2023-03-22 05:14
0
1 reply
Not gonna read that too long and useless. Btw hope u enjoy wasting ur life writing nonsense books on hltv forum. Enjoy kekw
2023-03-22 10:29
0
#53
 | 
India vpatel_22
Lets Goooooooo Liquid
2023-03-20 04:08
0
How's hunden working out astralis? Lol. Hope it was worth it! That guy is poison.
2023-03-20 06:16
0
yet another BaitF masterclass, will never win anything big like this
2023-03-20 06:30
0
Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen -gla1ve -zyp -buzz devvy and blamef need a new team.
2023-03-20 06:59
0
I love to se astralis fail :)
2023-03-20 07:52
0
2 replies
I am simple man, I see gla1ve and bot minister lose. I like
2023-03-20 09:28
0
Astralis made a name by themselves and despite some "sketchy" problems like the one with the smokes, they had my respect... The Hunden case and having such a no good cheater sign, throw me off. By now, I have no respect for them at all and in all games, I just want them to lose hard!
2023-03-20 13:02
0
#64
 | 
United Kingdom Nerdiish
-xyp9x + staehr
2023-03-20 08:19
0
#67
 | 
Denmark sla1ve
hope that this is good enough of a wake up call, watching this sucks for me as a fan. Either get players that can win or turn it into a passion project of the og astralis guys and kick blamef and buzz out. I'd be a fan of either of these things.
2023-03-20 09:26
0
Aleksib fraud confirmed he couldnt even archiwve with 1 rosyer what glaive did and now just paycheck stealing ever since. Ty for confirmation. Btw if igls or players followed stupid opinions like this then karrigan and etc wouldn't won 1 major or katowice etc and would be retired alrdy.
2023-03-20 14:21
0
#86
 | 
Malaysia Rich1eG0h
Changes must be made. Valde to replace Xyp9X and refrezh to replace Buzz .
2023-03-20 20:25
0
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