Liquid through to ESL One Cologne North America grand final over Chaos

Liquid took Chaos out in a two map series on Inferno (16-13) and Mirage (16-8) to secure their presence in the ESL One Cologne grand final, where they will face Evil Geniuses.

Liquid and Chaos faced off in the ESL One Cologne semi-finals in a match that was postponed from the previous day as Chaos joined the protests against police brutality in the United States of America.

Once the series got underway it was Liquid who were in the driver’s seat since the first half of Inferno and although Chaos showed some grit late on the map, they deflated as Liquid took it 16-13 and Jason "⁠moses⁠" O'Toole's men ran away with the series on Mirage.

Liquid hit the B site of Inferno in the first pistol round of the series, winning a 4vs4 afterplant situation to go up 1-0. Two opening kills by Jonathan "⁠Jonji⁠" Carey on the forcebuy with a CZ75 opened the door for Chaos to tie it up and go on to take the early lead, 4-1, before Liquid brought it back to a tie after eight rounds. Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip and company kept playing meticulous rounds, taking an 8-4 lead until Erick "⁠Xeppaa⁠" Bach with a double and Anthony "⁠vanity⁠" Malaspina with three AWP kills tallied another for Chaos, although that would be it as they trailed 5-10 at the half.

Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski took down four attacking players in a 5vs5 B retake in the second pistol round as Liquid inched closer to closing out their map pick, 14-5. Chaos found an opening thanks to Xeppaa and Nathan "⁠leaf⁠" Orf, prompting the team to win eight of the following nine rounds, but Liquid were able to finally seal the deal and deny the comeback, 16-13.

Liquid have secured a spot in the ESL One Cologne North America final

Liquid kicked off Mirage on the right foot as Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic and Michael "⁠Grim⁠" Wince scored doubles to win the first pistol round, taking a 4-0 lead before Chaos could get on the board. With a stocked up bank Liquid were able to retaliate immediately, further extending their lead in a dominating CT-side as Chaos were only able to find two more rounds before the end of the half, with Liquid giving no quarter.

Chaos’ chances were reduced as Liquid took the second pistol round as NAF and Grim once again downed two apiece. Up 14-3, Liquid hit match point against an eco, and although Chaos were able to win their first gun round on the defense and start to mount a comeback, they were finally taken out 8-16 as Liquid nailed down the series to secure a spot in the ESL One Cologne North America grand final.

ESL One Cologne 2020 North AmericaBest of 3 ChaosMatchpage 0 2 28th August 2020 Liquid 13Inferno 16 8Mirage 16

Chaos	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Anthony 'vanity' Malaspinavanity	34 - 40	-6	68.2	0.87
Erick 'Xeppaa' BachXeppaa	32 - 41	-9	64.2	0.87
Joshua 'steel' Nissansteel	30 - 39	-9	72.4	0.86
Nathan 'leaf' Orfleaf	31 - 41	-10	65.4	0.81
Jonathan 'Jonji' CareyJonji	27 - 41	-14	57.5	0.73

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	47 - 27	+20	97.4	1.45
Keith 'NAF' MarkovicNAF	38 - 27	+11	73.2	1.23
Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K	38 - 36	+2	86.3	1.23
Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE	45 - 35	+10	79.3	1.23
Michael 'Grim' WinceGrim	32 - 31	+1	68.8	1.07

Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey Age: 20 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 738 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.71 Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski Age: 23 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1319 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.68 Nathan 'leaf' Orf Age: 16 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 194 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.68 Jason 'moses' O'Toole Age: 33 Team: LiquidC Chaos #22 Joshua 'steel' NissanAnthony 'vanity' MalaspinaJonathan 'Jonji' CareyErick 'Xeppaa' BachNathan 'leaf' Orf Evil Geniuses #3 Peter 'stanislaw' JarguzTarik 'tarik' CelikVincent 'Brehze' CayonteEthan 'Ethan' ArnoldTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov Keith 'NAF' Markovic Age: 22 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1280 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.63 Liquid #8 Keith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenMichael 'Grim' Wince Anthony 'vanity' Malaspina Age: 21 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 549 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.66 Michael 'Grim' Wince Age: 19 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 601 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.69 Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip Age: 22 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1255 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.68 Erick 'Xeppaa' Bach Age: 20 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 260 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.68