Team Liquid win ESL Pro League Season 9, approach Grand Slam

The narrative surrounding Team Liquid’s tournament performances has undergone a dramatic shift from their previous reputation for faltering in championship matches.

This North American powerhouse secured one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most prestigious titles by claiming victory at the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. Throughout their campaign, Liquid reinforced their status as the world’s premier CS:GO roster by systematically dismantling multiple elite opponents. Their championship run culminated in a decisive elimination of French contenders G2 Esports in the grand finals.

The championship series commenced with an intensely competitive Dust 2 matchup. G2 established early momentum with an impressive 8-2 advantage fueled by critical plays across their entire lineup. This dominant stretch proved unsustainable as Liquid orchestrated their own winning sequence to seize control late in the match. Despite G2’s resurgence forcing overtime, their performance deteriorated in extra rounds, enabling Liquid to secure a hard-fought 19-15 victory.

This opening defeat appeared to drain G2’s competitive energy. Although the French squad initiated Overpass strongly with another spectacular pistol round execution from Audric “JaCkz” Jug, their gameplay rapidly unraveled from that point forward. Liquid assembled eight consecutive round wins and efficiently reached match point with a commanding 16-3 result.

G2 refused to surrender without resistance. The third contest on Nuke featured constant momentum shifts as both teams encountered difficulty establishing sustained control. While G2 had relied heavily on individual star power throughout their ESL Pro League journey, they matched Liquid’s intensity through disciplined team coordination. This strategic adjustment proved successful as G2 registered their first series win at 16-12.

The fourth encounter on Inferno delivered another tightly contested battle where neither side could maintain consistent pressure. Rather than cohesive team play, both rosters depended on extraordinary individual performances during an epic triple overtime spectacle.

Richard “shox” Papillon recorded an astonishing 44 eliminations for G2 while Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip responded with 42 frags of his own. The critical distinction emerged with Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken maintaining comparable statistics for Liquid, while G2 lacked secondary contributors to complement Shox’s output. This disparity resulted in G2 falling 25-22 after multiple overtime periods, conceding the series 3-1.

Liquid’s triumph over G2 concluded an extraordinary tournament campaign. Despite an unfavorable start with a group stage loss to North, Liquid recovered impressively by eliminating TYLOO, HellRaisers, and MiBR.

These victories positioned them for a highly anticipated confrontation with Astralis, which Liquid secured in dominant fashion to overcome historical disadvantages in their rivalry. The team subsequently dispatched Mousesports in the semifinal round.

With championship titles from ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals, Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV Sydney, and DreamHack Masters Dallas, Liquid now possesses three victories in the Intel Grand Slam Season 2. Securing just one additional tournament win within the series will grant them the $1 million grand prize.

Liquid stands perfectly positioned to achieve this milestone in the immediate future. The organization has guaranteed participation in the next three Grand Slam events, featuring ESL One Cologne, Intel Extreme Masters XIV Chicago, and ESL One New York.

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