Astralis eliminated! Liquid end on top in vital knockout match
Despite a heroic performance by blameF, Astralis couldn’t overcome their long-standing rivals from NA.
The four-time Major winners from Astralis will not be present at the Legends Stage of PGL Major Antwerp, and have therefore lost their chance to grab their fifth Major. That became a reality today when Liquid defeated the Danes 2-0 in a do-or-die match.
Liquid picked Vertigo as the starting map for today’s brawl, which on paper looked like a great choice with Astralis only having one map win on Vertigo throughout the entire year. The North Americans also started off the series the best by besting Astralis and their CT side going up 7-1 - despite playing on Vertigo which often tends to favour the CT side.
The only one who could save Astralis after such a bad start was Benjamin “blameF” Bremer. The strong rifler did all he could to keep Astralis in the map, winning rounds all by himself, clutching, entries, and even getting a 40 bomb (1.78 Rating). Nonetheless, it was enough for the Danes as Liquid locked down Vertigo with a close 16-14 score.
After losing on Vertigo, Astralis had their backs to the wall and were forced to take home their own map pick on Ancient. However, that seemed to be too tall of a task for the Danish super team with Liquid handing them the decisive 16-13 loss, which eventually send them packing from the Major.
On the other side off things, Liquid has secured themselves a spot in Top 16 alongside the other Legends Stage teams.
Liquid – Astralis 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage
16-14 (Vertigo) | 
blameF – 1.78 Rating / 40-20 K-D / 131.7 ADR
16-13 (Ancient) | gla1ve – 1.31 Rating / 25-18 K-D / 84.0 ADR
MVP: Benjamin ”blameF' Bremer” | 1.48 Rating / 62-38 K-D / 107.2 ADR
