posted by Abelle,
We didn't know how it was going to go down but the second SirActionSlacks drew Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses as quarterfinal opponents, we knew it was going to be one heck of a match. We weren't wrong, but that doesn't mean there weren't plenty of surprises along the way.


The two teams are theoretically well-matched but the first two games certainly didn't make it feel that way. Things evened out for the third and final game, but while EG were hoping for the upset, Liquid secured the win.

Game 1



It's been quite a while since we've seen Amer 'Miracle-' Al-Barkawi's Anti-Mage but he proved today that it can still be viable - even dominant. That wasn't the only surprise Liquid pulled out during this draft either. Kuro S. 'KuroKy' Takhasomi got his hands on Dark Willow for the first time and went ham, ending the game as the only hero without deaths on his team (and an impressive 5 kills/10 assists to boot!)

EG were banking on Pugna to push down towers early but they struggled to push into Venomancer's wards and Anti-Mage's split push. An early lead for the NA squad soon turned Liquid's way and one devastating fight at the 35-minute mark secured Liquid the first win.

Game 2



What's worse than 3-22? 0-27. Evil Geniuses were in full control for the entire game. We've said that before, but it's very rarely like this, especially with two teams of this calibre. Liquid tried to use Dark Willow a second time, but EG had the answer - Tusk. Any time he wanted to use Shadow Realm to escape, he was blocked in entirely with Shards and often Chen's creeps. SumaiL was given Ember Spirit in the offlane and he played it much like he would mid. This was no farm-starved offlaner. He crushed Miracle-'s safelane Timbersaw, bought Boots of Travel at the 6-minute mark and took over.

Liquid had no answers to EG's draft and were unable to find even a single kill. The only time an EG hero died was when Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev's Lifestealer used Aegis while pushing barracks. EG carefully sieged high ground with Lifestealer's Rage, so the game lasted a bit longer than you might expect - but a loss would mean elimination, so they played it safe. After 32 minutes EG had mega creeps and Liquid admitted defeat.

Game 3



After that disaster, PGL played out the Liquid motivational quotes video again as Liquid walked back on stage. It must have worked, because Liquid seemed to have their mojo back going into this third game.

There was no Dark Willow this time, though EG tried to pull off something a bit sneaky - a fourth-pick Broodmother. However, Liquid had something special in mind to counter her. They drafted Omniknight for Ivan 'MinD_ContRoL' Borislavov and sent him to the midlane against the Brood. He absolutely crushed Clinton 'Fear' Loomis in lane thanks to Purification's ability to instantly nuke a group of spiders. With both Purification and Degen Aura maxed by Level 9, MinD_ContRoL was a beast. Any EG support was forced to teleport out if they met him, or risk being clubbed to death with no way to run.

Evil Geniuses weren't completely overrun in this game - they pulled off some breathtakingly well executed fights despite being on the back foot, but gave up a few too many pick offs which allowed Liquid openings to gain ground. With Linken's, Lotus Orb and Force Staffs aplenty, Miracle-'s Lifestealer became the unstoppable frontliner Liquid needed to end the game and secure their spot in the semifinal round.



Evil Geniuses have been eliminated without winning any DPC points. Liquid will move on to face the winner of the final quarterfinal - the first match of the day tomorrow - between ru Virtus.pro and world OpTic Gaming.

  • Abelle
    Abelle

    Abelle

    Annabelle Fischer
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