Liquid advance to group B lower bracket semi-final over North

Liquid keep their feet in DreamHack Masters Malmö after defeating North 2-1 in group B's lower bracket pairing.

The first round of group A lower bracket matches saw Liquid take on North, kicking off affairs on Inferno. The American favourites started their defensive campaign with a convincing pistol round, which saw a five-round follow-up immediately after. North posted their first round after a brisk A hit saw success, and gradually accrued rounds in a bid to lessen the developing deficit, witnessing a solid 1v2 clutch from Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye in the process. After limited success from their opponents, Liquid closed out the majority of remaining rounds in the first half, concluding with a 10-5 lead.

The Danish defence commenced CT-side efforts with zest, as a successful pistol round saw a further three converted shortly afterward. An AK-47 triple kill from Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen concluded the string of consecutive rounds, and after a short three-round retaliation from Liquid, North were back on track, cruising to map point after a further six back-to-back successes. Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's men were close to forcing overtime on their map pick, but faltered in round 30, allowing the Danes a 16-14 win on Inferno.

Mirage kicked off to a promising start for North, who converted the first two rounds of the map on the CT side. Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic turned the tide for his team in round three, securing a Krieg triple kill, which proved to be the catalyst for a momentum swap. Liquid proceeded to persistently dismantle the defence, with only two additional rounds going in the favour of the Danish quintet by the end of the initial half at 12-4.

Nicklas "⁠gade⁠" Gade and company secured a consecutive pistol round on the offense as well, but in line with the initial half were unable to develop presence off the back of it. This proved to be a costly setback for the Danes, as Liquid were given enough space to secure map point, while a further eight rounds were needed for overtime. Only three of eight were converted as it subsequently emerged, forcing the final map of the series after a strong 16-10 victory for Liquid.

Dust2 saw Liquid roll on with the inspiration accrued from Mirage, as two successful rounds were secured off the get-go. North stunted the defence's development with rifles in hand, going on to assume a single-round lead as a result of their momentum heist. Round six was a pivotal point in map three, as it was from this moment that Liquid were able to find consistency in their defence. Two prolonged strings of four and five rounds, respectively, were split with but a single victory from North's offense, yielding the American squad a dominant 11-4 first half.

A repeat of the pistol round dynamic from the first half was seen, whereby North managed to snatch the ball from the hands of Liquid's offense, but were unable to use it to much effect. Having secured two rounds, the Danes conceded just as much to allow map point to their opponents. A successful A long hit left North at a two man disadvantage, and the team was unable to recuperate from the loss, conceding Dust2 on a 6-16 note.