Liquid eliminate Fnatic, to face Heroic in the EPL S14 quarterfinals

An old rivalry in the playoffs.

Neither Team Liquid or fnatic turned out to be the championship contenders in 2021, but both made it to the ESL Pro League Season 14 playoffs. The North American team looked really convincing in most of their games, while the European mix managed to survive in a grueling group and advanced through the tiebreaker scenarios.

Fnatic opted to play Nuke as the first map in the series and that decision has quickly backfired, as Team Liquid started with a “6-0”, improved to “11-1” and switched to the offence with a “12-3” lead. Fnatic needed a pistol round to start turning the tide on the defence, but it did not work out that way, as Liquid ran away with the map, “16-4”. Moving to Dust2, both teams got to halftime with TL having a narrow “8-7” lead, but then the North American team managed to steal an anti-eco and take a “14-10” lead. Fnatic nearly managed to turn the tide in their favour, as they got to a match point first, but TL still forced an overtime. Despite wasting a couple of match points of their own there, in the end it was all Team Liquid, as they secured the “25-21” win to stay alive in the event with a “2-0” victory.

Fnatic will now prepare for the IEM Fall, as they are seeking a yet another Major appearance on the home soil in Stockholm, while Team Liquid are going to face Heroic in the ESL Pro League Season 14 quarterfinals.