Liquid send MOUZ packing in Katowice

Twistzz's troops stave off elimination with a dominant performance against an under-strength opponent.

Liquid are through to Group B's lower semi-finals at IEM Katowice following a quick 2-0 victory over MOUZ, who were unable to put up much resistance in their second match with academy player Adrian "⁠xelex⁠" Vincze as a stand-in.

After a narrow loss to The MongolZ on Sunday, Liquid came out looking for blood. They were in control from the initial exchanges and held off MOUZ's late comeback attempts, with Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken and Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz combining for 82 frags in this one-sided affair.

"Luckily for us, we scrimmed them on Ancient when they had Spinx," Twistzz said after the match. "We already had a feeling of what their positions would be. Them having a stand-in was not really an issue. It was more, like, how many gimmick rounds they were going to have because of the stand-in, how much depth they were going to have.

"It was easier to read their CT sides sometimes and also their T sides. But you could not underestimate them; they have really good players on their team."

With their first elimination battle in the rearview mirror, Liquid have a difficult challenge ahead as their next match will pit them against Spirit or Natus Vincere.

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2025
04/02/2025	Liquid 13:30 Spirit	Match

NertZ delivers once again

NertZ was an absolute joy to watch today, putting in a 1.70 rating in both maps to power Liquid to a quick victory. The Israeli seems to be getting more and more comfortable with each game and is averaging a stunning 1.51 rating in Stage 2 of IEM Katowice.

After a rough showing against The MongolZ, Roland "⁠ultimate⁠" Tomkowiak had a number of solid rounds today, mostly with rifles. He and Twistzz clutched out a 5v2 situation on Nuke, and he had a crisp trio of AK frags on Ancient.

MOUZ out of Katowice without a map

For the second time this year, MOUZ exit a tournament without a victory. More concerning, however, is that they couldn't even take a map off of GamerLegion or Liquid in Poland.

They looked toothless for most of today's series, unable to match Liquid's firepower or find a way to contain them. Their CT setup was decimated by NertZ on Nuke as the Israeli moved freely outside time and time again. And there was that 5v2 situation late in the half that they should never have lost. At times, it looked like the hearts of MOUZ's players weren't really in it.

"Maybe we thought we could go further, that we could win some games," Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman said after the match. "But the expectations were a bit different. We didn't really show up, to be honest, which is also understandable in some way.

"We didn't have much time to prepare for this tournament. And obviously with a stand-in, even though I think xelex did a really good job. It was just super tough to play."

However, It's impossible to draw conclusions from this first event as MOUZ's players admitted their focus is on PGL Cluj-Napoca, where Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi will get to make his debut. That event will give us a much more accurate picture of what the team looks like in this post-Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek era.