SK and Liquid survive elimination at ESL One Belo Horizonte

The playoff picture at ESL One Belo Horizonte is set now that the last two contenders have completed their time in the group stage.

SK Gaming and Team Liquid earned playoff berths today in the electric Mineirinho Arena, winning against Space Soldiers and BIG, respectively, in their groups’ decider matches. They’ll be going up against FaZe Clan and Mousesports in tomorrow’s semifinal matches, which will both be best-of-threes.

Related: FaZe and Mouz advance to the playoffs at ESL One Belo Horizonte

As Belo Horizonte’s most favored team, SK came alive and showed their old form against SS on Cache and Dust II. A huge one-on-three clutch from Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo kept the Turks at bay on SK’s T side on Cache at 11-4, but the Brazilian-majority team struggled to close out map one after losing the second pistol round. Eventually, Jake “Stewie2k” Yip attained a pivotal 4K multi-kill that saved SK in round 30 to end the game 16-14. On Dust II, SK crushed SS at a 16-6 scoreline, with Stewie2k also winning the game with a mind-boggling “1g” ace.

SS’s Engin “MAJ3R” Kupeli showed great sportsmanship in the face of the Brazilian crowd, but unfortunately he was apparently spit on by some fans. FalleN apologized to MAJ3R for the indiscretion on Twitter.

The following match between Liquid and BIG was a bit one sided, with the Germans of BIG only showing up on the T side of Cache. Even though Liquid only won two out of four pistol rounds, they still kept the game in their favor throughout, thanks to Keith “NAF” Markovic’s crucial 4K on map one Cache. Inferno was a slightly easier affair as the North Americans kept BIG at five round wins per half before ending the series 2-0. NAF was Liquid’s top fragger in both maps, averaging 22 kills per map.

Group A – Decider Match

SK Gaming vs. Space Soldiers

• SK won Cache 16-14
• SK won Dust II 16-6

Group B – Decider Match

BIG vs. Team Liquid

• Liquid won Cache 16-12
• Liquid won Inferno 16-10

The semifinals at ESL One Belo Horizonte will begin tomorrow, with Liquid taking on FaZe Clan at 9am CT. Mouz vs. SK will be played shortly after, and today’s SK vs. BIG game was evidence that the Brazilian side will be the most supported team for the remainder of the event, thanks to their home-field advantage.