lichter Profile Blog Joined September 2010 1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL 22233 Posts Last Edited: 2016-06-27 21:41:48 #1







MLG Columbus is the first million dollar tournament in Counter-Strike history and the first major in North America, with a first place prize of $500,000. The qualifiers assembled the greatest talents the game has to offer, and every single team coveted a seed to the main event. With only 8 spots available, some of the best teams in the world were destined for failure. Nick "nitr0" Cannella traces Liquid's path to Columbus and the adversities they had to face.







There were two things on our minds going in to the qualifier. Our lineup was in flux, but our group was beatable.



With koosta having just joined, our new core five had to practice for different leagues. This ended up greatly affecting our practice leading to the qualifier with adreN. The good thing about having adreN as our fifth was that we were very familiar with him. He's been teammates with us for over a year after all. Based on that I'm confident that adreN was the best fifth we could have taken.



That brings us to our group of Hellraisers, Team YP, and Mousesports. I felt as if we had something to prove against Mousesports after coming up short in a recent Cevo LAN. In the back of my mind though I knew Mousesports were the best team in our group. They were very likely to advance. As for Team YP and Hellraisers, I knew even with our lineup changes, we could keep up with them as a team and individually.



Most people know I had been acting as in-game leader since the roster change. It felt very uncomfortable at first since I had never really led a team. This didn't really help against Hellraisers. And at such an important event to boot.



Even still the game felt decent. It was just a matter of staying focused and building momentum. Then of course this happened:







At this point we were full of emotions. Excitement, sadness, hopefulness, persistence, forbearance. It really was a mixed bag. With the team being so young you can only feel for how emotional we get sometimes. In a match of that capacity it's easy to succumb to that.



Those are the moments when we rely on each other, on one another for support when we make mistakes. It gets hard to refocus if you feel a mistake you've made will cost you the entire match.







But this is something special about our team. We are good at supporting each other and refocusing. We have motivational players in our squad like Hiko and adreN and our coach James never really gives up. All of this blends together to make a strong team environment.







Moving into the match against Team YP was pretty easy, but a little scary at the same time. When you know your team is better individually—and you are essentially playing against a pug—it all comes down to confidence. We knew in the back of our heads it was nearly impossible to lose this match. They weren't really a team and our "stand-in" had been with us for a year.



We knew we had them in the teamwork department and it showed.



The vibe going into the Hellraisers rematch was miles better than it was the first day. We prepared as a team the night before and studied the maps we expected to play. This helped tremendously.



And then in map three EliGE gave us a present.







This really sparked the fire power we needed to close out the map. You just get a sense of relief when something huge like that happens. It's very exciting, but at the same time, you know you have to stay focused. Over-celebrating is a bad thing.



Now we're on to the major. The first million dollar major. Hiko is going to be taking over as in-game leader and is doing great so far. He is doing everything I did and building upon the foundation. I think he will only improve in time.



I want to really thank adreN for showing up huge. I think he played his best ever tournament in CS:GO and it really impacted our results. He was called upon last minute and he really came through.



It truly is an honor to be playing in the first North American major. I cannot imagine the envy I’d be feeling if I were not participating. I am very, very, very happy to be a part of it. I also want to give a shoutout to all my fans and fans of our team. We really appreciate the support we get from the community, it all helps, believe it or not! Continue to support us for the major! Wear your Liquid shirts!



Writer // Nick "nitr0" Cannella

Editor // Ryan Prager

Graphics: // shiroiusagi

There were two things on our minds going in to the qualifier. Our lineup was in flux, but our group was beatable.With koosta having just joined, our new core five had to practice for different leagues. This ended up greatly affecting our practice leading to the qualifier with. The good thing about having adreN as our fifth was that we were very familiar with him. He's been teammates with us for over a year after all. Based on that I'm confident that adreN was the best fifth we could have taken.That brings us to our group of, and. I felt as if we had something to prove against Mousesports after coming up short in a recent Cevo LAN. In the back of my mind though I knew Mousesports were the best team in our group. They were very likely to advance. As for Team YP and Hellraisers, I knew even with our lineup changes, we could keep up with them as a team and individually.Most people know I had been acting as in-game leader since the roster change. It felt very uncomfortable at first since I had never really led a team. This didn't really help against Hellraisers. And at such an important event to boot.Even still the game felt decent. It was just a matter of staying focused and building momentum. Then of coursehappened:At this point we were full of emotions. Excitement, sadness, hopefulness, persistence, forbearance. It really was a mixed bag. With the team being so young you can only feel for how emotional we get sometimes. In a match of that capacity it's easy to succumb to that.Those are the moments when we rely on each other, on one another for support when we make mistakes. It gets hard to refocus if you feel a mistake you've made will cost you the entire match.But this is something special about our team. We are good at supporting each other and refocusing. We have motivational players in our squad likeandand our coachnever really gives up. All of this blends together to make a strong team environment.Moving into the match againstwas pretty easy, but a little scary at the same time. When you know your team is better individually—and you are essentially playing against a pug—it all comes down to confidence. We knew in the back of our heads it was nearly impossible to lose this match. They weren't really a team and our "stand-in" had been with us for a year.We knew we had them in the teamwork department and it showed.The vibe going into therematch was miles better than it was the first day. We prepared as a team the night before and studied the maps we expected to play. This helped tremendously.And then in map threegave us a present.This really sparked the fire power we needed to close out the map. You just get a sense of relief when something huge like that happens. It's very exciting, but at the same time, you know you have to stay focused. Over-celebrating is a bad thing.Now we're on to the major. The first million dollar major.is going to be taking over as in-game leader and is doing great so far. He is doing everything I did and building upon the foundation. I think he will only improve in time.I want to really thankfor showing up huge. I think he played his best ever tournament in CS:GO and it really impacted our results. He was called upon last minute and he really came through.It truly is an honor to be playing in the first North American major. I cannot imagine the envy I’d be feeling if I were not participating. I am very, very, very happy to be a part of it. I also want to give a shoutout to all my fans and fans of our team. We really appreciate the support we get from the community, it all helps, believe it or not! Continue to support us for the major! Wear your Liquid shirts!

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