Liquid through to playoffs over NRG at SuperNova Malta
The first day of SuperNova Malta has come to a close, with both Liquid and NRG taking their opening matches, and Liquid ultimately coming out victorious in the winners' match of the group.
The opening match of Group A saw NRG take on Kinguin, with both teams still in the process of building a name for themselves in their respective regions. NRG gained the early lead in the first half of Train, taking six rounds off the bat before Kinguin retaliated, taking four rounds. Both teams traded rounds for the remainder of the half, with NRG still retaining their lead 9-6. In the second half, NRG were the first to reach match point off the back of Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov, but Kinguin remained ever-persistent, taking the map into overtime. In overtime, NRG handily went 4-1, coming out on top 19-16.
NRGKinguin| NRG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov |
33 - 19 | +14 | 95.7 | 80.0% | 1.50 |
 Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte |
29 - 23 | +6 | 95.5 | 74.3% | 1.23 |
| Jacob 'FugLy' Medina |
22 - 26 | -4 | 70.2 | 62.9% | 0.90 |
| Ethan 'Ethan' Arnold |
22 - 28 | -6 | 68.3 | 62.9% | 0.81 |
 Damian 'daps' Steele |
16 - 26 | -10 | 53.8 | 60.0% | 0.70 |
| Kinguin |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Karol 'rallen' Rodowicz |
29 - 23 | +6 | 83.9 | 74.3% | 1.31 |
| Mikołaj 'mouz' Karolewski |
28 - 24 | +4 | 82.5 | 80.0% | 1.19 |
| Paweł 'reatz' Jańczak |
24 - 23 | +1 | 78.5 | 74.3% | 1.14 |
| Wiktor 'TaZ' Wojtas |
25 - 27 | -2 | 71.2 | 68.6% | 0.93 |
| Jacek 'MINISE' Jeziak |
16 - 25 | -9 | 55.5 | 60.0% | 0.75 |
The second opening match of Group A featured Liquid taking on Virtus.pro on Mirage. The Polish squad found an early lead, with Virtus.pro taking the first three rounds of the map. Liquid immediately found their footing in the fourth round, taking control of the map to end the half with a 9-6 scoreline. Liquid continued their good form in the second half, reaching double-digits off the bat with four straight rounds. Virtus.pro mirrored Liquid, taking four rounds in response, but the North Americans ultimately took their last three rounds to close the map 16-10.
LiquidVirtus.pro| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick 'nitr0' Cannella |
25 - 13 | +12 | 92.8 | 69.2% | 1.48 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
23 - 12 | +11 | 89.2 | 88.5% | 1.47 |
 Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
21 - 13 | +8 | 89.5 | 76.9% | 1.47 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
19 - 11 | +8 | 79.5 | 84.6% | 1.39 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
14 - 17 | -3 | 74.0 | 73.1% | 1.02 |
| Virtus.pro |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michał 'MICHU' Müller |
17 - 20 | -3 | 71.7 | 61.5% | 1.01 |
| Michał 'snatchie' Rudzki |
16 - 19 | -3 | 72.1 | 57.7% | 0.96 |
| Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' Jarząbkowski |
12 - 21 | -9 | 58.0 | 50.0% | 0.64 |
| Piotr 'morelz' Taterka |
11 - 22 | -11 | 56.3 | 53.8% | 0.60 |
| Filip 'NEO' Kubski |
10 - 20 | -10 | 44.5 | 50.0% | 0.59 |
In the last series of the day, NRG and Liquid clashed in the winners' match of Group A, with the series beginning on NRG's pick of Overpass. While NRG were able to take the first two rounds of the map, Liquid briefly turned the map around for six rounds, taking the lead 6-2. Liquid quickly found themselves in a drought afterwards however, only scrapping together one round for the remainder of the half as NRG usurped the lead to edge out an 8-7 scoreline at halftime. The second half proved to be even worse for Liquid, as NRG dominated on the T-side, securing the first map 16-8.
NRG's confidence carried over to Inferno, as the team racked up a 7-1 lead on Liquid's map pick. Keith "NAF" Markovic and co. rebounded in the ninth round, taking six straight rounds. Liquid were unable to edge out the seventh straight round, with NRG just barely retaining their lead 8-7. The second half was considerably stronger for Liquid, with Epitacio "TACO" de Melo's squad coming out on top 16-12, tying the series 1-1.
While both teams remained considerably neck-and-neck in the first two maps of the series, Liquid dominated NRG on the decider map of Mirage, with NAF leading his team to a strong 11-4 scoreline in the first half. The second half played out similarly, with the North American team coming out on top over NRG, securing the third map 16-5 and closing the series 2-1.
NRGLiquid| NRG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan 'Ethan' Arnold |
58 - 48 | +10 | 88.7 | 75.3% | 1.19 |
| Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov |
50 - 47 | +3 | 76.2 | 71.2% | 1.13 |
| Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte |
49 - 51 | -2 | 77.3 | 72.6% | 1.07 |
| Damian 'daps' Steele |
41 - 52 | -11 | 57.9 | 68.5% | 0.87 |
| Jacob 'FugLy' Medina |
27 - 46 | -19 | 54.9 | 60.3% | 0.75 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
59 - 44 | +15 | 85.0 | 75.3% | 1.27 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
56 - 43 | +13 | 84.8 | 75.3% | 1.23 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
45 - 47 | -2 | 70.5 | 74.0% | 1.05 |
| Nick 'nitr0' Cannella |
40 - 44 | -4 | 61.2 | 74.0% | 0.99 |
| Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
43 - 48 | -5 | 66.2 | 71.2% | 0.95 |
Having defeated NRG in the winners' match, Liquid are the first team to proceed to the playoffs in Malta. NRG will take on either Kinguin or Virtus.pro in the decider match tomorow.
The schedule for tomorrow's matches can be seen below:
| Friday, November 30th | ||
| 4:00 AM | Kinguin vs. Virtus.pro |
BO3 |
| 7:30 AM |  BIG vs.  Gambit |
BO3 |
| 11:00 AM | NRG vs. Kinguin/Virtus.pro winner |
BO3 |
| 2:30 PM |  TYLOO vs. BIG/Gambit winner |
BO3 |
