The new season has barely begun, but Liquid have already suffered a devastating blow.
On Monday, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and company crashed out of the ESL Pro League Season 22 qualifier after a disappointing loss to Sashi.
The defeat means the star-studded team will not attend the $1 million tournament in Stockholm this October.
Despite being the highest seed in the qualifier, Liquid failed to win a single match, falling in their opening round to the Danish side.
One of the standout players was former Astralis AWPer Philip “Lucky” Ewald, who ended the best-of-three series with 60 kills and a 1.42 rating. None of the five Liquid players managed to finish with a positive rating.
Tough period
The disappointing loss comes on the brink of a likewise lacklustre result at the Austin Major, where Liquid went 0-3 after an upsetting showing.
Now sitting outside the Top 20 in Valve’s global rankings, Liquid are in desperate need of VRS points to stay in contention for key events later in the season.
With that being said, they have already secured a spot at both IEM Cologne Stage 1 and Esports World Cup.
