Liquid knock Cloud9 out of IEM Cologne

Liquid have earned their spot in Group B’s lower bracket final after dispatching of Cloud9 in straight maps. The Vladislav “⁠nafany⁠” Gorshkov-led squad gave Liquid a run for their money as the attacking side, but in the end their efforts weren’t enough with the North Americans claiming 16-11 and 16-9 victories on Dust2 and Vertigo, respectively.

After a strong display against Outsiders in their opening series, Cloud9 find themselves out of IEM Cologne altogether having to settle for 9-12th place. The Russians couldn’t build off their early tournament success, suffering back-to-back 0-2 sweeps against Astralis in the upper semi-finals and finally to Liquid in their elimination match. Meanwhile, Liquid will face the winner of FURIA – Spirit next for a place in the LANXESS.

Dust2 was Liquid‘s map pick, in which they wasted no time breaking through Cloud9‘s defense and creating a sizeable lead, up 5-0 early on. nafany‘s side finally got themselves on the board in the sixth, however Liquid‘s superb utility usage and well-organized advances on either bomb site continued to cause problems for the Russians, as Josh “⁠oSee⁠” Ohm drove his team to a 10-1 advantage. Cloud9 were able to finish off the half with a slightly more promising display, taking three of the last four cutting their deficit to seven.

Cloud9 went on an absolute tear coming out of the break, nearly erasing Liquid‘s lead in its entirety behind some impeccable fragging from Sergey “⁠Ax1Le⁠” Rykhtorov as the Russians found themselves trailing by just one round, down 11-12. Faced with the threat of a potential Cloud9 comeback, Liquid dug deep and turned things around at the most crucial time, reawakening their T side dominance and scoring four straight to take home the 16-11 Dust2 victory.

A three-for-three exchange opened up Vertigo, with Cloud9 securing the early lead before Liquid quickly answered back and brought the game level, with Ax1Le and Jonathan “⁠EliGE⁠” Jablonowski dropping important triple-kills for their respective teams. Despite the slow start, the defense provided by Nick “⁠nitr0⁠” Cannella‘s crew turned things around as Liquid managed to enter the switch up 9-6 with Mareks “⁠YEKINDAR⁠” Gaļinskis‘s 17 kills leading the charge.

As the second period got underway, Liquid and Cloud9 picked up right where they left off, with the first five rounds going back-and-forth between the pair. Just as the game was reaching a fever pitch, nitr0 and company found the winning formula at the perfect time scoring five out of the next six to seal the 2-0 sweep, ending Cloud9‘s run at IEM Cologne.