Counter Strike Global Offensive is no stranger to incredible upsets, whether it be one incredible shot or an entire series. The latest chronicle within the game’s esports scene is in the hands of Team Liquid.
After a rough patch Team Liquid was not in the best shape, standing 13th in the world ranking. However they are previous major winners and it was demonstrated with their series against highly regarded Astralis. The stage was set, Team Liquid needed to win two games in a row against Astralis in order to continue within the tournament.
Astralis had eleven wins against Team Liquid where the americans had only three wins in the head to head. After the pick and ban phase, Team Liquid decided to pick “Vertigo” as their map choice where Astralis decided in “Ancient”. The first game was set to start and Team Liquid definitely came with their game on, taking the first map in a close 16-14. Next it was Astralis’ map choice which ended in a similar fate with a 16-13 scoreline in favor of Team Liquid, thus winning the series to complete the reverse sweep.
Team Liquid was definitely feeling happy with the result, however this spelled an unfortunate and never seen situation for Astralis. The danish giants have never failed to advance to a second tournament stage, thus making this the first failed qualification in the organization’s history. Expectations are always high for Astralis, as they are currently the record holder for the most CSGO major trophies, four to be exact.
Now what’s left to see is if the organization will remain with the current roster, as there already are rumors within the community for possible changes. As for Team Liquid they will need to demonstrate this reverse sweep was not a fluke.
