Just like their historic rivals NAVI and Astralis, Liquid's appearance at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 would mark the beginning of a new era for the organisation.
Making their debut with a European core for the first time in their Counter-Strike history, the first matches of both Patsi and Rainwaker were hotly anticipated.
A debut that started so strongly, how did it end in disappointment and with Liquid needing the Fall Showdown in order to make their way to the Royal Arena in November?
Handed a difficult group featuring the likes of FaZe, G2, and OG, there was very little expectation on Liquid to impress right off the bat. With an IGL still learning the ropes in YEKINDAR, and a player stepping up to tier one in Rainwaker, strong performances off the bat would have been too much to ask for.
As it turned out though, Liquid would go on to impress in their opening match against G2. Although hindsight now says that G2 are far from their best at Fall Groups, it was still a good debut victory for the new Liquid squadron.
A 2-1 victory, Liquid opened their account with a 16-9 win on Ancient. A map they seemed particularly strong on in their opening games, everyone on the team put in a solid performance as their mix of passive and aggressive players displayed a strong chemistry from the get go.
The series could have easily ended 2-0 if not for NiKo's heroics on Mirage. A 19-17 scoreline, the Bosnian's 37-26 statline was the difference maker as every Liquid player finished above 20 kills.
Another close map, the decider, Vertigo, ended 16-14 in favour of Liquid. A starring performance from NAF, his 27 kills topped the server, and with ample support from the aggressive duo of Patsi and YEKINDAR, even NiKo couldn't stop Liquid from claiming a debut win as a roster.
Faced with another difficult game in the Upper Final of Group C, Liquid would once again rise to the occasion in a game against the titans of FaZe Clan. Winning with a 2-1 scoreline once again, they would do so after falling behind in map one.
A 16-11 victory for FaZe on Inferno, the deadly trio of rain, Twistzz, and broky proved too much for Liquid to handle as FaZe closed out their CT half with an 11-4 lead.
Going into Mirage, while the map would be almost as close as against G2, Liquid would this time manage to close it out before the game could get to an overtime. broky and oSee matched each other at the top of the scoreboard with 27 kills apiece, but it was the 24 kills of NAF that proved to be the key to Liquid's victory as they closed out the map 16-14.
Liquid then put in another strong performance on Ancient as they clowed out the series 16-8. Another solid team performance, NAF climbed to the top of the scoreboard with 23 kills while only ropz could even manage a neutral KD on the side of FaZe.
FaZe then winning against G2 set the two sides up for an immediate rematch, and it was in this game where things began to turn sour for Liquid. A masterclass from karrigan both in terms of fragging and calling, his 43 kills helped his team send Liquid down to the gauntlet with a 16-7 on Overpass and a 16-11 on Ancient.
Liquid's final game at Fall Finals would come against Astralis. A match in which they'll be disappointed with their performances, they fell 16-11 on Overpass and 16-9 on Inferno thanks to a team performance from the Danes.
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