The NA side, Team Liquid reigned supreme in the grand finale of the IEM Sydney. The side outplayed the hot favorite, Fnatic to take home their first major title of 2019.
The finale!
The first match of the series took place on Cache where Fnatic started off in a dominating style by winning nine rounds. The Swedes went into the break with a confident 10-5. Playing as terrorists, Fnatic dominated the map and led the series 1-0 after a 16 -10 victory. Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin got 26 frags and had an impressive 95.4 damage average per round.
The Swedish power house 🇸🇪 @FNATIC claim their map pick with a 16-10 scoreline – giving them the 1-0 lead in our BO5 series! 👊
Overpass is where 🇺🇸🇨🇦 @TeamLiquid will look to equalize things shortly.
📺 https://t.co/fTBRGuUiMV#IEM pic.twitter.com/gP3dtirqRo
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) May 5, 2019
The 2nd meeting of the finale took place on Overpass. The NA side started very convincingly after winning rounds in a row. Yet it was not enough to shut off Fnatic and the teams into the halftime with a 9-6 score in favor of Liquid. Liquid continued to dominate after the break and got an 11-6 lead. But, to keep things exciting for the audience Fnatic tied the map 12-12. Yet Liquid just managed to edge the victory in the 30th round to tie the finale 1-1.
The third map of the final was Mirage where fnatic won four out of the first five rounds. Yet Liquid was not discouraged by the lead an at halftime was leading 9-6. After an impressive performance of EliGe in the game with 26 kills, Liquid now led the series 2-1. The NA side was just one win away from victory.
It seemed like Liquid was prepared to wrap up the series after an Ace from Twistzz in the pistol round. Yet it didn’t intimidate Fnatic, which at halftime was leading the map 9-6. The Sedes simply went on a riot in the 2nd half as Liquid didn’t win a single round. The match ended 16-6 for Fnatic and the series was tied 2-2.
Our fourth map is upon us for the #IEM Sydney 2019 Grand Final! 🏆
Don't miss the action LIVE from Qudos Bank Arena with 🇺🇸🇨🇦 @TeamLiquid vs. 🇸🇪 @FNATIC on Dust II.
📺 https://t.co/fTBRGuUiMV#IEM pic.twitter.com/IUtmWMdhJG
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) May 5, 2019
On Inferno Liquid showed why they are attributed as a rival to Astralis in 2019. The team displayed a remarkable performance in the first half ending it with an 11-4 lead. Fnatic did show traits of a comeback like winning five rounds in a row yet it was not enough to stop Liquid from winning the trophy.
An impressive run from Liquid
Team Liquid lost only two maps in Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV – Sydney, both in the grand final of the tournament. The team won the group stage without a single defeat, and then beat MIBR in the semifinals with a score of 2-0.
❤️️ THANK YOU SYDNEY ❤️️ #IEM pic.twitter.com/3y7uM6Sdvl
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) May 5, 2019
In the course of the championship, the side led by Keith “NAF” Markovic also competed against BOOT-dream [S] cape, BIG and Ninjas in Pyjamas. The only team that could beat Team Liquid was Fnatic – Richard Xizt Landström and co defeated the side on Cache and Dust2, but still lost the championship.
Since May 2018, Team Liquid has lost eight times in the grand finals of major LAN tournaments. Over the past 12 months, the team only won iBUYPOWER Masters IV and SuperNova Malta 2018. IEM Sydney took place in Australia from April 30 to May 5. The champions of the competition, Team Liquid received $ 100 thousand.
