One of the favorites to qualify crashed out after losses to Sharks, Lynn Vision and Liquid.
After a disappointing Stage 1, HEROIC are out of the IEM Cologne Major.
HEROIC’s map pick of Nuke could hardly have gone worse. NAF and EliGE rolled back the years, dropping nearly 20 kills each to shut down HEROIC’s T-side.
On Liquid’s T-side, several rounds got close, but they had constant control of the economy.
HEROIC almost brought back Inferno
Inferno was Liquid’s stomping ground initially, as malbsMd’s aim was on display. They got up to 6-1 before HEROIC replied, managing to grind out 4 rounds.
For HEROIC, only nilo was producing, while Liquid’s individuals were firing on all cylinders. Especially malbsMd, who almost destroyed HEROIC’s hopes of a comeback in the second half.
A crucial set of rounds won by HEROIC, with nilo again at the forefront, almost got them to overtime, but a failed A attack spelled the end for HEROIC.
Player of the match: malbsMd
NAF and EliGE were excellent on Nuke, but malbsMd was the key behind Liquid’s 2-0 victory. He had 10 multikills in the series, six of them on Inferno.
Liquid will play FlyQuest tomorrow for a spot in Stage 2.
2-2 matchups tomorrow
- Liquid vs FlyQuest
- NRG vs BIG
- TYLOO vs Lynn Vision
