Liquid secure third place at Birch Cup 2025
Liquid's run at Birch Cup has come to an end with a victory v. Partizan to secure a top-three finish at the Romanian LAN.
Liquid began their journey at Birch Cup with a 13-9 win on Ancient over 500 before falling to eventual champions 9INE in the next round. Their final match before playoffs was a forfeit win over ENCE, who withdrew due to travel obligations.
Liquid's performance at Birch Cup also guaranteed that Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski could be registered with the team before Major Invites are sent out.
Liquid 2-0 
500
Liquid's quarterfinal matchup was a rematch of their first game in the competition v. 500. Liquid chose to start the series on Dust2 and won eight of the first ten rounds to start the map. 500 rallied back to win the final two rounds of the first half and the first four of the second to tie the map at eight rounds apiece. Both teams traded rounds back and forth until overtime, when Liquid secured a 16-13 win on map one.
The next map was Ancient, the map these two teams met on earlier in the tournament. Liquid started well once again, taking a 10-2 lead after their CT side. Liquid quickly secured twelve rounds to put themselves on the brink of advancing. 500 clawed back, but their deficit was too great, as Liquid won the second map 13-8 to secure the match.
Liquid500| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
42 - 29 | +13 | 80.7 | 76.0% | 1.40 |
 Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
40 - 30 | +10 | 85.4 | 84.0% | 1.35 |
 Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
40 - 35 | +5 | 96.8 | 88.0% | 1.34 |
 Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
36 - 36 | +0 | 74.5 | 74.0% | 1.06 |
| Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
29 - 37 | -8 | 68.5 | 66.0% | 0.84 |
| 500 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sebastian 'volt' Maloș |
47 - 40 | +7 | 101.0 | 78.0% | 1.45 |
| Aleks 'Rainwaker' Petrov |
39 - 37 | +2 | 90.0 | 72.0% | 1.13 |
| Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov |
35 - 34 | +1 | 69.7 | 76.0% | 0.97 |
| Hristiyan 'REDSTAR' Pironkov |
28 - 35 | -7 | 63.6 | 66.0% | 0.93 |
 Hampus 'hampus' Poser |
15 - 41 | -26 | 43.6 | 58.0% | 0.50 |
9INE 2-1 Liquid
Liquid's next opponent was another rematch, against 9INE this time. Liquid chose Dust2 once again, with both sides jockeying for an advantage early on. The score was at a stalemate after the first half, after which Liquid took control, surrendering just three rounds on their way to a 13-9 win.
Liquid and 9INE were deadlocked at 6-6 once again on 9INE's map pick of Train. 9INE flipped the script on Liquid this time, giving up only two rounds in the second half to secure a 13-8 victory to force a third map.
The deciding map was Nuke, where 9INE took an impressive 8-4 lead after the first half. They held Liquid at arm's length, booking their spot in the final thanks to another 13-8 win.
Liquid9INE| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
61 - 42 | +19 | 103.6 | 81.2% | 1.43 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
46 - 42 | +4 | 70.7 | 67.2% | 1.04 |
| Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
37 - 43 | -6 | 69.2 | 67.2% | 0.94 |
| Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
32 - 41 | -9 | 59.0 | 65.6% | 0.84 |
| Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
23 - 45 | -22 | 46.6 | 64.1% | 0.67 |
| 9INE |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 'cej0t' Dyl |
57 - 45 | +12 | 88.5 | 68.8% | 1.22 |
 Josef 'faveN' Baumann |
44 - 37 | +7 | 72.8 | 73.4% | 1.19 |
 Tobias 'kraghen' Kragh Jensen |
42 - 36 | +6 | 73.0 | 76.6% | 1.08 |
| Rasmus 'raalz' Steensborg |
32 - 42 | -10 | 63.4 | 68.8% | 0.89 |
| Mădălin-Andrei 'MoDo' Mirea |
38 - 40 | -2 | 66.1 | 70.3% | 0.87 |
Liquid 2-0 
Partizan
Liquid's final match was the third-place decider v. Partizan. Liquid picked Mirage to start the series. Liquid were right to be confident on the map, as they started with a dominating 10-2 T side to begin the series. Partizan couldn't mount a comeback, as Liquid won 13-3 on Mirage.
Partizan's pick was Inferno, but it was Liquid who had another solid start on the T side, holding an 8-4 lead after the first half. Partizan reduced their deficit to one round, but Liquid responded with five consecutive to secure third-place via a 13-7 win.
PartizanLiquid| Partizan |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jane 'aidKiT' Apostoloski |
24 - 24 | +0 | 73.8 | 63.9% | 1.13 |
| Nikola 'Dragon' Boskovic |
19 - 26 | -7 | 65.1 | 66.7% | 0.77 |
| Vladan 'Kind0' Mandic |
17 - 27 | -10 | 69.4 | 61.1% | 0.71 |
| Luka 'c0llins' Živanović |
20 - 32 | -12 | 60.4 | 61.1% | 0.62 |
| Vladan 'VLDN' Radević |
10 - 29 | -19 | 33.5 | 61.1% | 0.45 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
36 - 18 | +18 | 100.0 | 77.8% | 1.90 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
32 - 14 | +18 | 79.8 | 80.6% | 1.46 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
26 - 18 | +8 | 83.6 | 83.3% | 1.31 |
| Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
27 - 25 | +2 | 89.3 | 80.6% | 1.13 |
| Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
16 - 17 | -1 | 51.9 | 86.1% | 1.08 |
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