Liquid are through to the semi-finals at IEM Katowice after beating NiP 2-1 in the quarter-finals (16-13 on Overpass, 13-16 on Mirage, and 16-9 on Inferno).

The second quarter-final at IEM Katowice 2018 featured Liquid and NiP. The best-of-three series kicked off on Overpass which was the Swedish squad's pick and they started it on the T-side. Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman picked up a triple kill in the pistol round to make it 1-0.

William "⁠draken⁠" Sundin and dennis clutched a 2vs5 and survived against the force buy of Liquid in the second round. NiP were leading 5-1 when they had a 4vs2 advantage but they crumbled as Liquid got their second round on the board (5-2).

Liquid are through to the semis

Liquid trailed got within one round of NiP on two separate occasions but NiP took charge towards the end of the first half, winning four in a row to be 10-5 ahead at halftime. Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken was the hero for Liquid in the second half pistol round as he got a triple kill to make it 10-6.

Following anti-eco wins, the North American team got to eight rounds but dennis & Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg combined for double kills in the first weapon round to stop Liquid's momentum (11-8). Later in the second half, Liquid were behind with a 13-11 scoreline but managed to go ahead by picking up three consecutive rounds (14-13).

Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic clutched a 1vs3 in the 28th round of the match to give his team two map points. Despite a 3vs5 disadvantage in the following round NAF's double kill and Twistzz' triple was enough for Liquid to close it out 16-13.

NiP started Mirage on the CT-side and secured the first three rounds. Liquid grabbed the first weapon round but Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner and draken stepped up in multiple rounds to make it 6-1. The Swedish dominance continued and they led 12-3 at halftime.

NiP are out of IEM Katowice

The North Americans woke up in the second half, winning the first nine of the half to tie it up at 12-12. NiP got their first round in the second half with REZ's 1vs1 clutch but Liquid hit back in the following round (13-13). NiP won the last three rounds to get a 16-13 map victory, taking the series to the third map.

On Inferno the T-sided Liquid picked up the pistol round but couldn't follow it up with anti-ecos as NiP got three rounds in a row (3-1). NAF's team won a 3vs5 and a 4vs5 in consecutive rounds to tie up the game (3-3).

dennis got an ace in the seventh round to put his team ahead and NiP extended their lead to 7-3 after securing three more rounds. Liquid replied with five rounds in a row and won the half 8-7.

Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes & company started the second half with four round wins, extending their lead to 12-7. The defense stood strong for Liquid and they won the map 16-9. With a 2-1 series victory, Liquid advanced to the semi-finals where they will play fnatic.