By Alex Major Brown

Photo by HLTV

Preview

Coming into the event, four of the eight teams in attendance had a genuine shot at the title. Liquid, who had taken a break since Blast Copenhagen, were expected to make a good run given the opposition in their groups- EG, NIP and Avangar. EG were the only team likely to challenge them in-game. Fnatic, who had been in championship level form since Flusha’s addition, looked to continue their form. Although they didn’t attend IEM Beijing or CAC, their tournaments placings were still very strong. EG themselves were in need of a big run given their successive group stage exits at both IEM Beijing and CAC 2019. They were favoured to win CAC but had disappointed, placing greater importance on this tournament as a chance for redemption. Finally, Astralis, who had been godlike at IEM Beijing were looking to secure another title and take more wins over their rivals.



Group stage

For our big four, the group stage went mostly as expected. In group A, Liquid came out swinging against NIP and took them down 16-4 on Mirage. Liquid’s individuals were dialled in, with every player having key rounds. NIP didn’t stand a chance on their T-side as they were continually outduelled. EG comfortably beat Avangar on Dust 2, overpowering them in terms of skill. In the winners match, EG vs Liquid looked like it could have been a closely fought series. Instead, Liquid comprehensively beat them 2-0.

They put on a clinic on CT-side Inferno and closed out the map easily, 16-4. Dust 2, EG’s pick, went down to the wire but Liquid played much better all around. Cerq had a stellar game, but received no support from his teammates in the fragging department whereas Liquid’s members all contributed to the scoreboard. Stewie2k was particularly strong, dropping 25 kills and clutching a 1v2 for the win. EG edged their way past NIP 2-1 in the decider game, but didn’t look entirely comfortable. They were able to comeback from a 10-5 deficit on Nuke thanks to a big game from Brehze, while Ethan single-handedly took EG over the line on Inferno. Despite making the playoffs, EG’s stars hadn’t come online at the same time, which didn’t bode well for the playoffs.

Photo by HLTV

Over in group B, Astralis were played very close by Sharks, the Brazilian-Argentinian roster, who showed an impressive t-side on Nuke to take the Danes to overtime. Although Astralis won, this was only the 3rd time a team had made it to overtime against them on that map. Fnatic took down MIBR on Inferno thanks to a monster performance from JW who went 34-12, not missing a beat on the AWP.

The winners match was a fairly comfortable victory for Astralis who dispatched Fnatic 16-6 on Nuke before securing Inferno 16-14. The Inferno game was a well fought match and despite the loss, Fnatic proved their strength on the map.

The decider series against MIBR was also close but Fnatic were too strong on both maps. Brollan played very well, averaging 101.9 adr for the series and was unstoppable on the T-side of Vertigo, finding several multikills with the SG. The playoffs were locked in: Fnatic would face Liquid and EG would take on Astralis.

Photo by HLTV

Playoffs

The playoffs started with Astralis taking on EG. Despite their relatively poor recent form, EG still went into the series with a winning record against the Danes in offline play. The veto played out in Astralis’s favour with Overpass left over as a decider, a map that the EG core have struggled on since the addition of Stanislaw.

Inferno started with Astralis in red-hot form. Despite losing the pistol, they went on a 9 round streak on the T side, taking map control and executing clinically. EG fought back to make it 9-6 at halftime, but Astralis had shown EG that they were capable of dominating the map. With Astralis finding the 2nd pistol and the ensuing anti-eco rounds, they went 12-6 up and EG could not find an answer, eventually losing the map 16-8.

With Inferno in the bag, Astralis looked to close out the series on Nuke and got the dream start. Once again, they won the forcebuy against EG in round 2 and found themselves 8-2 up. However, bringing out the AWP on the T side and breaking the money of Astralis, EG were able to reduce the deficit to 3 rounds and rallied well. EG lost the pistol on their CT side but started a lockdown of their own. With Tarik playing his best game of the tournament and Cerq continuing to land shots, EG equalised at 12-12. Astralis managed one more round but EG didn’t slow down, neutralising Astralis’ T side and taking the map 16-13.

Photo by HLTV

This win clearly boosted EG’s spirits heading into Overpass, where they took a 4-2 thanks to a 1v2 clutch from Ethan. Astralis stayed composed and took control of the game on the T side, seemingly trading every kill and stopping EG’s momentum. 10-5 up at halftime, Astralis quickly cemented the map, winning the pistol and repelling EG’s attempts at a comeback, giving up just one round. Astralis took Overpass 16-6 and headed to the final.

In the second semi-final, Fnatic took on Liquid, who had shown greatly improved form compared to the previous month. Fnatic took advantage of the fact that they share Train as a permaban and pulled out a surprise pick in the form of Overpass. Despite Fnatic’s performances on Inferno, Liquid picked it regardless and Mirage was left in as the decider.

It quickly became clear that Fnatic’s pick had worked. On the CT side, Fnatic were aggressive and clinical and established an 8-0 lead before Liquid found a round thanks to a heroic 4k from Elige. Brollan was a turret at Bathrooms, completely shutting Liquid down. Liquid made a late resurgence to find 5 rounds on their T side but Fnatic responded with their own T side. Brollan continued to find opening kills, eventually ending the map with an 80% opening kill success rate. Fnatic closed out the map 16-6 and looked poised to possibly upset Liquid.

On Inferno, Liquid recovered well, taking the CT side pistol and converting the following rounds to take a 4-0 lead. They traded rounds but re-established economic control and made it to 9-2. NAF and Elige were in their element and Fnatic lacked Brollan’s impact. Liquid quickly wrapped up Inferno with a dominating T side. Elige found 4 kills in a 5v3 to take Liquid to a 14-5 scoreline and Liquid secured their map pick in style, overwhelming the A-site defense and ending the map 16-6, forcing a 3rd map.

Liquid found their feet on the T side of Mirage and opened up a 5-2 lead before a miraculous 1v3 from JW saw Fnatic break back and take the score to 5-5. The half ended at 8-7, with the result far from certain. Liquids CT side however, was far too much for Fnatic to handle. Twistzz stepped up in a big way and Liquid started to find their groove. They committed to a risky force-buy at 10-9 but it paid off, and Fnatic’s own force failed, leaving them economically at sea. Round by round, Liquid took control of the game and ended it 16-10, setting up a final with Astralis.

Photo by HLTV

Having not played against each other since ESL New York, the final promised a thrilling contest. Liquid picked Vertigo, seeking redemption from the two previous encounters, while Astralis picked Nuke with the series set to end on Dust 2.

Astralis’ competence on Vertigo was well established, but they weren’t prepared for NAF. He went 22-7 in the 1st half and allowed Liquid to find 11 rounds on their CT side. Yet Liquid couldn’t close their advantage and looked lost on their T side. NAF managed to steal a round at 13-13 despite only being equipped with a p250, but Liquid conceded overtime. Finally, Liquid looked like they had some answers and went 18-15 up thanks to some key wallbang kills at the A ramp. Map 1 went in their favour but it was not the walk in the park that they would have wanted given their success in the 1st half.

Moving into Nuke, Liquid continued their sharp individual form and showed a strong hand on their CT side. Their were able to hold the bombsites well and stole away rounds on forcebuys, finding 8 in total in the first half. Astralis looked good but were being matched. Liquid won the T pistol and suddenly had control of the series. After finding the following 3 rounds, they found themselves 11-7 up. And then, it all went wrong. Astralis tightened up their defence and Liquid struggled to find post-plant scenarios and even when they did, they couldn’t hold. Astralis seemed to get inside Liquid’s head and eventually took the lead. Astralis did not take their foot off the gas and forced Dust 2.

Photo by HLTV

Liquid recovered a round after losing the pistol to make the score 3-1 but struggled to make anything work on their CT side. Astralis, looking unstoppable chained 6 in a row to make it 9-1 on their T side. Device, who had stayed fairly quiet in the first two maps, excelled on this third map. He dominated Mid, cutting off rotations and preventing retakes while the rest of Astralis traded their way onto sites. Along with their excellent utility usage, Liquid had no answer. They found a few consolation rounds thanks to Twistzz, but the damage had already been done. Astralis quickly made it to 16 rounds to take the game and the tournament, winning yet another ECS event in style. Despite obvious improvements for Liquid, they were outclassed and unable to mentally compete, especially after their capitulation on Nuke. Astralis showed that they were capable of withstanding a challenge from Liquid, who, all things considered, came close to winning the tournament.