Team Liquid defeated 15 other CS:GO teams to grab the top prize at the ESL One COlogne 2019. With this, Liquid gets to take home $125,000. This win also means that Liquid gets the Intel Grand Slam prize.
Liquid's roster is composed of:
- Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella
- Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
- Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken
- Keith "NAF" Markovic
- Jacky "Stewie2K' Yip
- Eirc "adreN" Hoag (Coach)
In the Group Stage, the first Round was a best-of one format, with the succeeding rounds being best-of three. Liquid was tested early, with the team going against MVP PK on the Inferno map. In the first round of this match, Liquid took an early lead of 5-3. However MVP PK turned things around and won the next four to take the lead. The round ended with MVP PK getting a one point lead with 8-7. The second round was initially close resulting in a 3-3 score for both teams. Liquid however slowly broke away and finished the round 9-6. The overall score was Liquid with 16 and MVP PK at 14.
The next rounds were relatively OK for Liquid, with Liquid beating Natus Vincere 2-1 and then NRG Esports 2-0. The win in the Group Stage meant that Team Liquid automatically got seeded to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Liquid faced Na'Vi. This time, Liquid did not give an inch and beat Na'Vi 2-0.
The finals had Liquid versus Team Vitality. Liquid totally dominated Vitality on the Overpass map. Liquid didn't even allow Vitality any opportunity to score in the second round. The second round was closer, with Vitality grabbing the win in overtime. After that Liquid took the Inferno map 16-10 and Mirage map 16-8.
While the win is indeed good news for Liquid, it's just the start of something even better. Since the beginning of the Intel Grand Slam Season 2, Liquid has won three of the four tournaments so far. Astralis won the first one at Intel Extreme Masters XIII - Katowice Major 2019. Liquid took the next three, which were Intel Extreme Masters XIV - Sydney, DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019, and ESL Pro League Season 9 - Finals.
The recent win means that Liquid has now become the first team to get four wins. As such, Liquid grabbed the Grand Slam title along with the $1 million prize.
