Team Liquid defeat MAD Lions 2-0
The North American giants were too much for the MAD Lions to handle
With the first Semifinal between Heroic and OG having been concluded, it was now Liquid and MAD Lions' turn to prove themselves the stronger roster. Facing each other in a tense Bo3-series there could only be one victor in the end. On paper, it seemed a difficult task for the MAD Lions boys to overcome the firepower of Team Liquid. Once the two teams had entered the server it quickly became clear that one team had the upper hand in terms of experience and individual capabilities. Without too much difficulty it was an on-form Team Liquid roster to silence MAD Lions and secure the victory in just two maps.
The first map was the choice of MAD Lions and saw the Bo3-series start on Nuke. The map of Nuke has come to be the home ground of MAD Lions, as it has been for many Danish-based teams in the past. Starting on the T-side, however, the lions were presented with a challenging Team Liquid defense from the get-go. With five rounds to their name, the MAD Lions had to post a more convincing CT-sided second half if they were to claw themselves back into the Bo3-series. The second half was, unfortunately for MAD Lions, just as challenging as the first had been. Managing to secure only four CT-sided rounds they would have to see themselves bested by Team Liquid at the scoreline of 16-9.
The second map of the series was to be played on Inferno and was, of course, picked by Team Liquid. With a win rate of 73% throughout the past three months (11 maps) it was no surprise that Liquid would choose Inferno as their map pick. Luckily for the Mad Lions, they had the exact same stats as TL (73%, 11 maps), and that became a problem for the Americans in the first half. The Lions started out splendidly making it 8-2 after ten rounds. What looked to be a hard comeback for TL became more manageable after they secured three more rounds in the first half to make it 10-5.
As bad of a start as Liquid had in the first half, as good a start they had in the second, catching on fire after only five rounds in the second half. The American squad ended up taking the map 16-13 led by "NAF", who was lights out on both maps, helping TL make the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2021.
Highlight of the BO3-series from The Smoke Criminal himself:
Team Liquid – MAD Lions (2-0) | BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2021 (Semifinal)
16-9 (Nuke):
NAF – 1.57 Rating / 22-11 K-D / 97.8 ADR
16-13 (Inferno):
NAF – 1.46 Rating / 26-16 K-D / 89.1 ADR
MVP:
Keith “NAF” Markovic | 1.51 Rating / 48-27 K-D / 93.2 ADR
