Liquid's success in Stockholm
October 05 2015
Five intense days of LAN in Stockholm have concluded and the boys of Liquid have earned themselves a spot in the next major, DreamHack Cluj-Napoca. Competing on CS:GO's biggest stage will be a new experience for young guns FugLy and EliGe, but Cluj-Napoca will also mark the first time that Team Liquid will be represented at a major. This result, in line with their recent upswing, has solidified Liquid as a top-tier threat in North America who are ready and willing to contend with the Europeans. With an ever-increasing list of international LANs to attend, we’re sure to have plenty of opportunities to see Liquid in action against the world’s best.
Liquid began their Stockholm story the same way that it would end: with a victory over the charismatic Aussies in Renegades. Their first meeting would prove an explosive bout between two teams equally hungry to prove themselves on the world stage. Opening with Cobblestone, Liquid bust out of the gates with a vicious Terrorist half. Early gun rounds consisted of fast, snappy executes targeting primarily the B bombsite. These executes would hit with vicious pop flashes and perfectly timed smokes early on in the round, putting the team’s expert coordination on display. This no-nonsense style would kick off the half but Liquid wisely hit the brakes and drove the tempo of the map in new directions. At this point in the game, adreN and his squad of mid-round callers were able to showcase their prowess for the fundamentals of Counter-Strike. With FugLy and Hiko splitting the duties of lurker, Renegades were caught off-guard time and time again to smartly-timed flanks and pinches that dismantled their rotations and bombsite setups. After a whopping 11 round finish for Liquid's T side, things looked promising. On the Counter-Terrorist side of things however, Liquid felt themselves pinned down by the very pressure they dished out in the previous half. Blinding executes and on-the-fly coordination would amount to a comeback for the Australians, who took the first game of the series 16-14. Rotations for CT-side Cobblestone require precise timing and Renegades were able to manipulate Liquid’s position one too many times.
Perhaps having now shaken the LAN jitters, Liquid showed up big for the second map of the series on Overpass. Once again, our boys would come out strong with a brutal T side, taking 13 rounds with them into the second half. AdreN and co. seemed practically at home on Overpass. Their T-half demonstrated strong, textbook map control and patient play in conjunction with smart set nades and team-oriented executes. Hiko in particular went off on Overpass—with his team all playing tactical, structured CS, Hiko was free to frag and clutch like the North American superstar we all know him to be. The second half, a short affair, saw Liquid closing out the game with more clean and strategic play. Brilliant crossfires and positioning shut down Renegades and their hopes of a comeback, ending the game 16-5 in favor of Liquid.
Renegades brought the heat once more in the deciding map on Cache, but not after Liquid opened things up for the third game in a row with a double-digits T-side. Off the back of swift entry frags and rock solid rifle work from nitr0 and FugLy, Liquid cinched a powerful 12-3 half. AdreN showcased an aggressive, tempo-based playstyle underscored by great fundamentals. Smart pokes and pushes around the map would slowly constrict Renegades' map control and limit their information. In taking duels, Liquid's star fraggers would almost certainly come out on top. This punishing and methodical style, which could snap and execute in an instant, left Renegades without an answer. Following a triumphant halftime however, the Liquid boys learned quickly realized that closing out the game would prove to be a tall task against the eager Australians. SPUNJ and his squad came out swinging in the pistol round and Renegades would set themselves up nicely with subsequent anti-eco rounds. The second half presented a slow climb for Liquid, but one they would eventually overcome. Six match points and some very tight clutches would finally end the map and the series, giving Liquid the W in their first match of the tournament.
In the second round of games, Liquid put up a fantastic fight against mousesports but would not manage to walk away with another W. This match however, exemplified their marked improvement; in just a short couple of months, Liquid has skyrocketed to being a top-three NA team, ready to challenge the dominance of European teams. There were certainly stumbles in their series against the German powerhouse, but both maps were tense and both teams boasted some fantastic individual performances and strategic play. The first map of the series, Cache, had the famous ChrisJ and his trusty AWP shutting down Liquid plays left and right. Some patient and coordinated retakes from mouz also seemed to haunt Liquid in some of their after-plants. Both sides of the battle came armed with strong ecos and force-buys that threw off the pacing of the first half, which seemed to have taken a harder toll on Liquid than on mouz. Tight, back-and-forth rounds often came down to one-versus-ones, two-versus-twos, etc. Hiko's raw clutching power certainly helped in those scenarios, but it was clear that the Germans brought their A game as well. Despite their struggles against the Europeans, Liquid held their own and nabbed a respectable six rounds on the Terrorist side of Cache. Mouz's T-side play was a pure and refined force, one which clearly shook adreN and dominated the second half of the game. A short stint of rounds and the hopes of a comeback on their CT side were quickly stifled by the manipulative strategies of mouz. Liquid came through with a handful of big, individual plays to get them to 10 rounds, but the North Americans would go no further this map. A quad kill from ChrisJ would end the game at 16-10 in favor of mouz and would put Liquid down one map.
The second map of the series played out in a similar fashion to the first, with Liquid unfortunately not dominating on their T-side as they did versus the Australians. On Cobblestone, mouz initially battered the North Americans with the same strong fundamentals that broke them in the previous map. Hiccups in Liquid's economy kept them down in the ditches for most of the half and Liquid's numerous ecos and partial buys seemed dampened by the Germans' fortitude. Smart and slow play would have mouz in the driver's seat for a majority of the map. Four rounds would come the way of Liquid in the first half, an apt result for a team struggling to find its momentum. Though their T-side seemed less cohesive on Cobblestone, adreN's CT-side setup was well-grounded and allowed him to shine as an AWPer. The Liquid sniper had his hands full with ChrisJ on the opposing team, but adreN rose to the occasion and put up high impact play and some great stats to boot. Despite some great teamwork and stellar individual play, Liquid met their match against the well-oiled machine in mouz. The game ended 16-9 and knocked Liquid down to the lower bracket.
The second go around with Renegades had Liquid playing clean, polished Counter-Strike. Another T-side start on Cache put Liquid back in familiar territory to kick off the elimination match. In this series, Liquid's raw fragging power carried them across a number of engagements where it seemed like Renegades just couldn't keep up. In a 23-round game, FugLy and EliGe dropped 29 and 25 frags respectively. Liquid found their confidence and tempo against the Aussies who had almost dropped them to the lower bracket in their first meeting. Liquid took a more-than-comfortable nine rounds on the T-side of Cache and in transitioning to the CT-side, they seemed to have found their footing. Shaky CT-sides had almost lost Liquid their initial series against Australia's best, but in their rematch series Liquid would not have that difficulty again. In the pistol round, FugLy tore the half wide open with four USP-S headshots that slammed shut the case for Renegades' execute. From there on out, Renegades would take only a single round in the second half and would be forced to cede Cache 16-7 to Liquid.
The final map that would book Liquid their tickets to Cluj-Napoca proved an even more one-sided affair, with Liquid finally starting on the CT-side of Cobblestone. The game had a tense opening, with rounds and frags being traded back and forth. As Liquid settled into their CT-side though, the story of Cobblestone took a sour turn for the players of Renegades. Liquid's rotations were crisp and on-point, with their forward players gleaning just enough information to make the right calls. Strong crossfires on the A bombsite had the Australian offensive in pieces and soon enough the half would end 11-4 in favor of Liquid. Four rounds would be the end of it for Renegades and their tournament lives would be ended by North America's newest international contender. The second half was as clean sweep from Liquid, who swiftly gathered the five rounds they needed and secured their spot at the upcoming Romanian major.
Liquid have at last found their missing parts and are showing the world that they're a real threat. adreN and his team have shown exceptional improvement in the last couple months, and Hiko as an addition seems to have entirely revitalized how Liquid plays Counter-Strike. The structure of Liquid has found its rigidity with Hiko taking over as primary lurk so that FugLy and EliGe can settle into more well-defined positions. With a clear foundation for roles in place, and with individual talent abound, the team has all it needs to become a world-class contender. adreN's calling has been one of the absolute biggest improvements for Liquid, and their system of mid-round calls is evidently working well. We're seeing stronger, more team-based executes and a better understanding for a slow, methodical, map-control style on T-side. Liquid's CT-sides were mostly lopsided over the weekend but their issues were often game-specific—in every CT half they played, there were moments of brilliance that shone through as a true reminder that Liquid possess the skill, talent, and knowledge to play with the best.
In the coming weeks we will get to see Liquid cultivate those assets into an international threat, and soon after we'll see Hiko and the boys representing Team Liquid at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca.