Team Liquid crash out of ESL Pro League S22 contention

Team Liquid’s 2025 woes have deepened after a shock 2-1 defeat to Danish Counter-Strike side Sashi in the opening round of the ESL Pro League Season 22 Europe Closed Qualifier. The early exit means Liquid will not feature in the upcoming EPL event in Sweden, failing to advance past the first stage of the qualifier.

Despite entering the tournament as the highest-ranked team in the field, Liquid faltered when it mattered most. Their demotion from 14th to 17th in the latest Valve Regional Standings (VRS) meant they narrowly missed a direct invite and were forced to battle through the qualifier’s single-elimination gauntlet.

It was a challenge they were ultimately unprepared for.

Sashi, led by a red-hot Philip “Lucky” Ewald, came out swinging on Nuke, claiming a dominant 13-8 victory thanks to a blistering terrorist side and a 2.45-rated performance from Lucky.

Liquid hit back on Mirage to level the series, but Sashi sealed the upset with a commanding 13-6 win on Inferno, where they raced to a 9-3 lead on the counter-terrorist side before closing it out in style.

Lucky was the standout performer of the series, racking up 60 kills and finishing with a +25 K/D and 1.42 rating. In contrast, all five Liquid players ended the series with a negative K/D.

The result marks another bitter setback for the North American organisation, who have been competing in Europe due to VRS regulations. Liquid also skipped the FISSURE Playground #1 event to focus on this qualifier—costing them additional points and momentum in the standings.

This defeat follows their winless 0-3 showing at the BLAST.tv Austin Major Stage 3 and raises further questions about the CS2 team’s trajectory. Despite speculation around roster changes during the off-season, Liquid made no moves besides hiring ex-Natus Vincere analyst Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea as head coach.

With their EPL campaign over before it began, Liquid must now regroup ahead of IEM Cologne 2025, where they’ll face Brazilian side paiN Gaming in their opening match on July 23. The pressure is firmly on to deliver a convincing showing—and fast.