Team Liquid made it through the CS:GO StarLadder Berlin Major playoffs with a win over mousesports today.
Mousesports may have lost, but the team gave Liquid a run for their money. The teams played three overtimes and at least one of the maps, Dust II could’ve seemingly gone mousesports’ way. The North Americans recovered from their 1-2 deficit, however, and will now face Astralis at the playoffs.
Mirage couldn’t have started the series in a better way. Robin “ropz” Kool, who had a few bad showings at the Major, stole the third round with an ace clutch. Liquid had a huge advantage in the second half, 14-7, but mousesports stayed strong and won eight rounds to take it to overtime.
The North Americans persevered and won 19-17 as Keith “NAF” Markovic showed in great shape and got 33 kills.
The Dust II game was on mousesports’ hands as they got two map points, but lost to Liquid’s scrap buy as Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski killed three players with the Desert Eagle. EliGE’s savior play forced mousesports onto pistols and lose the 30th round.
Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s side had another chance to close it in the first overtime, but Liquid saved it by killing mousesports’ captain with just two seconds left on the clock. The North Americans didn’t waste their extra chance and won it 22-20. EliGE and Jake “Stewie2K” Yip finished with 34 kills each.
Today’s victory is a big relief to Liquid, who are trying to solidify their era. Winning the CS:GO Major would certainly be the cherry on the cake. They will face one of the toughest opponents in the playoffs, Astralis, who dominated the scene in 2018 and won the previous Major at IEM Katowice in February.
Although this is a tough loss for mousesports, especially because they will have to go through the New Challengers Stage again at the next Major, they shouldn’t keep their head down. This lineup has a large amount of talent and there is room for improvement as ropz, Özgür “woxic” Eker and David “frozen” Čerňanský are all young shining stars.
Liquid will have three days to rest and prepare for Astralis at the Major playoffs, which begin on Sept. 5. You can keep up with the StarLadder Berlin Major results and standings here.
