IEM Chengdu 2024cadiaN wins in first meeting with HEROIC, Liquid to face G2
The two international sides will be going head-to-head for a spot in the playoffs of the Chinese event.
Liquid and G2 have each secured their opening victories at IEM Chengdu, over HEROIC and 9z, respectively. This result will now see Casper "cadiaN" Møller and Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen's troops clash in Group A's upper semi-finals, with the winner earning a spot in the playoffs after just one day of play.
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| IEM Chengdu 2024 | ||
| 08/04/2024 |
11:05
|
Match |
Both sides will be pleased to have notched wins in their opening matches, with each squad having something to prove heading into the Chinese event. Since assembling their lineup at the beginning of the year, Liquid have failed to put up any results of note at international events, with Keith "NAF" Markovic and co. even missing out on an appearance at PGL Major Copenhagen after a dismal run in the Americas RMR.
Now a month out since their last official match, Liquid are now hoping to secure their first impressive showing with cadiaN at the helm.
Liquid are already off to a good start, securing the scalp of HEROIC after a close BO1 on Ancient. Despite some individual prowess from René "TeSeS" Madsen and Rasmus "sjuush" Beck on the CT side, the Danes were unable to overcome their former captain, as Liquid put up their own impressive defense to lock down the map 13-8.
Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken and cadiaN combined to beat the Dane's former team, putting up 1.60 and 1.39 ratings in the affair, respectively, with both providing some crucial multi-kills along the way.
 Liquid |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 - 9 | +6.53% | 89.2 | 76.2% | 1.60 | |
| 20 - 12 | +2.18% | 75.8 | 76.2% | 1.39 | |
| 12 - 12 | -0.46% | 83.7 | 85.7% | 1.21 | |
| 12 - 13 | +1.09% | 77.4 | 85.7% | 1.17 | |
| 9 - 16 | -3.10% | 52.8 | 71.4% | 0.85 |
 HEROIC |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 - 16 | +5.24% | 107.0 | 71.4% | 1.44 | |
| 13 - 14 | +0.03% | 69.7 | 81.0% | 1.03 | |
| 11 - 15 | -5.34% | 59.2 | 57.1% | 0.73 | |
| 11 - 16 | -2.69% | 57.8 | 61.9% | 0.68 | |
| 5 - 13 | -3.48% | 31.2 | 61.9% | 0.57 |
Conversely, G2 have found far more success than Liquid in 2024 so far, but HooXi's troops have fallen short of hoisting any trophies so far. The European side most recently bowed out of PGL Major Copenhagen's semi-finals to eventual champions Natus Vincere after a hard-fought BO3 that was lost despite the best efforts of young Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov.
With Natus Vincere skipping out on IEM Chengdu, G2 now have their eyes set on hoisting their first trophy of 2024, and an opening win over 9z is the first step towards that goal.
HooXi's troops encountered a slow start in their opening BO1, encountering an early deficit on the CT side of Nuke as a result of a strong showing from Nicolás "buda" Kramer. Soon Nikola "NiKo" Kovač and Nemanja "nexa" Isaković came alive, allowing G2 to win out the first half despite their early shortcomings. Although buda finally began receiving help from his teammates on the defense, it was not enough to reclaim the lead as G2 shipped the LATAM side off to the lower-bracket with a hard-fought 13-10 scoreline.
 G2 |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 - 14 | +9.40% | 115.3 | 78.3% | 1.63 | |
| 20 - 13 | +3.40% | 96.4 | 87.0% | 1.50 | |
| 15 - 16 | -3.77% | 70.8 | 65.2% | 1.01 | |
| 11 - 12 | -1.09% | 50.5 | 73.9% | 0.93 | |
| 11 - 13 | -1.36% | 52.7 | 65.2% | 0.84 |
  9z |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 - 14 | +5.01% | 114.4 | 65.2% | 1.59 | |
| 15 - 16 | -2.25% | 70.6 | 69.6% | 0.97 | |
| 13 - 15 | -1.88% | 57.8 | 56.5% | 0.81 | |
| 9 - 20 | -4.88% | 54.9 | 56.5% | 0.65 | |
| 6 - 15 | -2.58% | 28.1 | 56.5% | 0.59 |
Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen
Mihai 'iM' Ivan
Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy
Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius
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aLight
Goonlord
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kilda_choose
Nujen
Math_Enjoyer
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Wembanyama
