Liquid handles FaZe in Dallas, endures splendid s1mple return
In a must-watch opening match at IEM Dallas, Liquid emerged victorious against two of its former stars, spoiling the return to competitive action for Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev.
Against one of the best to ever use the AWP, Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak proved to be the key man for Liquid, delivering crucial kills and solid impact throughout Ancient, despite some heroic playmaking from s1mple and an uncharacteristically quiet showing from Guy "NertZ" Iluz. Liquid led 8-4 at half-time, and just when FaZe started to fight back into the map, ultimate closed the door, locking in a 13-10 win.
Inferno was the site of more s1mple highlights, T-side dominance, and superior Liquid teamplay. From the bonus round onward, Liquid dominated the first half, leading 9-3 at the half. The second half started with a highlight-worthy s1mple pistol 4K, which sparked a FaZe comeback, but Liquid held on in the final rounds to win Inferno 13-10.
LiquidFaZe| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
40 - 28 | +12 | 90.5 | 71.7% | 1.36 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
34 - 26 | +8 | 83.5 | 82.6% | 1.27 |
 Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
34 - 29 | +5 | 82.0 | 71.7% | 1.22 |
 Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
31 - 26 | +5 | 73.9 | 76.1% | 1.10 |
| Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
27 - 31 | -4 | 68.0 | 80.4% | 0.95 |
| FaZe |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev |
38 - 31 | +7 | 80.8 | 65.2% | 1.12 |
 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen |
23 - 35 | -12 | 74.8 | 73.9% | 0.93 |
 David 'frozen' Čerňanský |
29 - 36 | -7 | 72.0 | 65.2% | 0.89 |
 Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
27 - 33 | -6 | 73.9 | 65.2% | 0.87 |
 Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
22 - 33 | -11 | 57.1 | 69.6% | 0.75 |
Despite the loss, s1mple made it clear that he's back. He finished with 38 kills and 31 deaths, and was the only player on FaZe to finish the series with a positive player rating. Finn "karrigan" Andersen said on X there's been "a lot of chaos and some confusion" with two stand-ins, but says things should "get better" going forward.
Both FaZe and Liquid await their next opponents in Group B at IEM Dallas.
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