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Team Liquid’s new Counter-Strike 2 line-up secured their first playoff berth by defeating G2 Esports 2-1 (13-6, 10-13, 13-9) at Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu.
The series showcased Liquid’s resurgence, especially considering their recent struggles in the PGL Major Copenhagen RMR campaign.
The team displayed impressive performances, particularly on Ancient and Inferno, with standout plays from Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic and Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken ensuring a confident win.
.@TeamLiquidCS pull through and take down @G2CSGO 2-1 to make it to the #IEM Chengdu playoffs!
13-6 Ancient
10-13 Anubis
13-9 Inferno pic.twitter.com/tAnMUGIIGA— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) April 8, 2024
G2, on the other hand, faced underperformance from key players like Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač and Nemanja ‘huNter-‘ Kovač, except for Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov who showed consistent form.
Despite a valiant effort, G2 couldn’t match Liquid’s momentum throughout the series.
Looking ahead, Liquid advances to the upper bracket final of Group A, where they will play for a spot in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, G2 must fight for survival in the lower bracket against Lynn Vision.
In the second advancement match of IEM Chengdu, MOUZ secured a 2-1 (8-13, 16-14, 13-9) victory over FURIA, despite a slow start on Nuke and Vertigo.
.@mousesports outlast @FURIA in the BO3 2-1 and advance to the #IEM Chengdu playoffs!
8-13 Nuke
16-14 Vertigo
13-9 Mirage pic.twitter.com/bThAr96uvl— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) April 8, 2024
However, they bounced back on Mirage, thanks to standout performances from Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman and Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás.
FURIA’s Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato struggled initially, only finding form towards the end of the series.
With this win, MOUZ advances to face Liquid in the upper bracket final, while FURIA will battle Heroic in the lower bracket to stay in the tournament.
As both MOUZ and Team Liquid look ahead to the playoffs, TYLOO and 9z were eliminated from Chengdu after suffering a second straight defeat on the opening day.
Tuesday’s IEM Chengdu matches
- Cloud9 (-10000) vs Wildcard (+1100) @ 1:30pm CST
- FlyQuest (+450) vs Virtus.pro (-833.33) @ 1:30pm CST
- Astralis (+175) vs FaZe Clan (-250) @ 4:30pm CST
- Steel Helmet (+900) vs Nemiga (-3333.33) @ 4:30pm CST
- G2 Esports (-1250) vs Lynn Vision (+600) @ 7:30pm CST
- Heroic (-151.52) vs FURIA (+110) @ 7:30pm CST
