Liquid find relief against paiN in IEM Cologne 2025 opener
After winless exits at the BLAST.tv Austin Major and the ESL Pro League S22 qualifier, Liquid got a much needed win against Major semifinalists paiN Gaming.
On Mirage, Liquid's stellar second-half CT side, fueled by solid individual performances from all the players, paved the path to a comfortable 13-7 win on map one. Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak led the way for Liquid, with 19 kills and only nine deaths.
But on Dust2, a map that has historically been considered a weak point for Liquid, they looked exceptional. Another strong CT side ballooned the lead to 9-3. The second half started chaotically, with Liquid and paiN trading unlikely rounds back-and-forth, and just when Liquid's old choking habits started to resurface, Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek and Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken stepped up to deliver a couple of crucial rounds to secure Mirage, 13-8.
LiquidpaiN| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
32 - 26 | +6 | 84.8 | 82.9% | 1.30 |
 Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
33 - 22 | +11 | 81.4 | 75.6% | 1.28 |
| Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
33 - 21 | +12 | 85.5 | 78.0% | 1.21 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
27 - 19 | +8 | 74.9 | 85.4% | 1.15 |
 Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
28 - 24 | +4 | 70.4 | 78.0% | 1.11 |
| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lucas 'nqz' Soares |
25 - 29 | -4 | 64.9 | 65.9% | 1.01 |
 David 'dav1deuS' Tapia Maldonado |
23 - 31 | -8 | 61.7 | 61.0% | 0.94 |
 Franco 'dgt' Garcia |
27 - 30 | -3 | 80.4 | 58.5% | 0.91 |
| Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
21 - 33 | -12 | 64.3 | 61.0% | 0.75 |
| João 'snow' Vinicius |
16 - 30 | -14 | 48.4 | 63.4% | 0.62 |
For Liquid, it is their first series win since their sole victory against FaZe at IEM Dallas more than two months ago. And fittingly, it's their former frontman in Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and the rest of FaZe awaiting them in round two of the Play-In bracket.
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