CS:GO - Astralis vs. Team Liquid [Inferno] Map 1 - IEM Global Challenge 2020 - Grand Final

you're right into the swing of things oh i don't think you could have asked for a better opener than that astralis with the t-side beginning on inferno there mark pick and team liquid looking to hit the ground running here it's a lot of utility for either side and already we've got this triple banana set up 14 liquid early on look at device waiting patiently and he's going to best stewie in that heads ahead it doesn't bait them in so calculated so cold astralis never wavering never running the gun a little bit too early the re-flash back but device is patiently waiting and straws have been doing this all event giving up this top b position never getting caught by these aggressive ct plays and that's a read from liquid that could go the wrong way they send a rotate round knife doubles out astralis don't move a muscle they haven't all round since getting that opening kill grim with a gamble he's alone on b he does have that kit but in a retake like this it could be pretty difficult astralis have all the utilities here for a full execute we know their b plays with the smokes or the mollies can be tantalizing and so can grim put a stop to it can grim do anything as astralis set up towards oh the pressure is gonna be on for old mate grim those smokes reigning in and out here in international waters where grim not quite as proven as the rest of his team well you all just have to concede this bomb site for now bit of damage through the smoke but it really is nothing to write home about here for liquid this pistol now kind of hanging in the balance and it's astralis who are looking good liquid already falling off with naf he's going back to check the flank and yeah grabbing that usp on his little journey swing from a league doesn't find anything and now oh it's looking like an australis pistol it's looking like they should have this locked in there will be a bit of a response from twist but the times already too far gone right they still have enough but you would need all these kills so damn quickly and look astralis just aren't giving you anything they swing it together and already we get kind of looking as to the minds of astralis right the the the incredibly genius danes that lie over on this astralis squad they're all just tucked in no one's even giving up a fight and then all at once man you you go from getting nothing to get in everything if you're those two players in ct yeah now spam in the smoke that's why he doubles back for a second he uses a lot of his ammo just spraying the smoke with the usp we know you can run out of ammo with that in a pistol so swapping back and going for a retake that was never meant to be you hope liquid have studied the demos you hope they know what they're up against because that is a classic astralis t-side banana play that they've been doing all event playing so safe forcing you to doubt yourself and rotate liquid do exactly that and one man left in the b bomb site couldn't put a stop to it buy it back in for liquid they don't wait a round this deagon a liege could be devastating but nothing given up down middle takes your shot backs out we've got three smokes left up on liquid they've already dropped one at the top of banana trying to stall this b plate it looks like it's coming in once again there's even an early rotate in the form of naf moving back over astralis smoke long denying aleigh that information in the top and middle he could go through it he's looking interested trying to find a gap on the edge nothing to be seen astralis still with plenty of smokes and molotovs for this play they are walking into this stack here for liquid but naf is cut out and spawn another flash back in not a shot is fired not a man moves and they could have no reason to believe that australis have five players here but that's the reality we live in smoke down at the 52nd mark astralis still have time to stall yeah they're not sweating yet but they do have this triple set up to contest with stewie lining up a flashbang for the rest of his team just to try and blindside astralis and that's the thing for these danes while they're more than familiar with the kind of style that nitro used to call stewie could be a bit of a new challenge all together there's that swing from stewie2k and it's left in this four on four now the stack at b is getting dismantled stewie running through this smoke it's actually naf rather helped out by a liege on this rap with the deagle and he was one of the players who stepped up yesterday while he's trying to get this pistol round off to a rip-roaring beginning and he's left to zip back turn to the man in the pool and twist takes his head off team liquid oh they're immediately in with this response one to one and uh and that's just exciting counter-strike right there right zip even trying to like kind of meet them in the middle meet them at their own game rushing through smokes just hoping for a kill hoping for something to get given over it certainly is going to bode well for liquid if we do get a good start out of guys like a liege yeah and as mentioned twist is someone else that we need to be keeping an eye on here that re-smoker b was perfectly timed right alicia had no information on the mid side due to astralis smoking off long with the b smoke coming down after that fact it trades smokes for alleged to play aggressive and come in on that back line liquid stacked up ready raring to go and forcing astralis to a bit of a pistol by of their own zip on the solo ak he's working his way up mid but liquid the big middle finger that is that reef smoke once again as astralis look for an opener that won't be presented i think in a gamble with grim once more they did it on the pistol it didn't work wonders but this time grim has a lot more real estate to play with and four you can see all the way down b it's a bit scary when you don't have any util on your solo be playing a round like this right if astralis kick up the pace if they flash you off you you don't know whether you're getting rushed or if they're just regaining this control to keep you there keep two players in b and at least that's what we have for now boost up coming in spawn for liquid no more smokes left for liquid either they can't stall this much longer naf has the molotov on the a site it's coming down to grim and stewie smg's galore that 1ak of zip coming up to try and trade glaive he's going to be leading in with the tech 9. both playing anti-flash and now they hear the footsteps the flash is good but opened up to grimm in ct he keeps it even and there are rotations already on their way round for liquid this four on four has given astralis a bit of a chance however grim doing what he can to keep team liquid in this retake and now they're posted up right they're waiting on the outside of this site for the smokes to fade they're waiting as well for twist to throw this flash in so they can look to explode into the site on the retake now time is ticking away from them there's that flash and it's lights out for the players back inside but not for this aka a banana twist doing what he can it's a nice little double oh and a third of that left to device down to the 1v1 nafta in the bomb and divises him with the swing astralis with the b site execute finish off the remainder of liquid they instantly claim one back and now well now this game just got very interesting indeed didn't it as we're into these four spy wars this back and forth yeah it's quite the chess match isn't it right trading rooks for rooks right now not giving up anything and liquid undoubtedly are going to come back in with their own force by there's no reason you wouldn't in a position like this they don't really even have the money as each force goes on the buys pretty much get worse for liquid as well on the ct side they've got one m4 and a liege pistols elsewhere elijah looking to make a play he loves going for these horse peaks and the flash is good to find zip trying to back out as well takes the long haul way down as boiler gets mollied and dupri jumps up but nothing to be found with the apartments emptied now by liquid obviously an irretrievable gun it was only a mac 10 at that but that's a huge start for liquid astralis they've gone for three b plays in a row they look to try and change things up now liquid being conditioned moving a third man over in this five on four and a double short side set up for liquid got a deal with the devastating danes double pits set up and they're just having to wait now this gives a bit of an avenue over towards long for astralis and that's scary oh a miss smoke there thrown out from glaive now there are plenty of others who can look to fill that gap so it's not the end of the world but that's given up a bit of the game now if you're liquid you've heard these two smokes go in you know there's at least two people here hugging this long corner and so we see stewie peeling back round from b now waiting at arch side astralis going to regroup over here at short and this is where that double pit setup could be so deadly glaive leading the charge doesn't check the pit but a few shots from twists and it's a little bit ugly naph now giving up his aim of the game that he is here and glaive getting into the graveyard but look at stewie he's gone out he's denied the bomb plan 20 seconds and time now becomes the concern for astralis stewie trying to beat them with the clock now just looking to buy time from the pit but he's not able to do so and so magisk will regain control of this bomb he's going to get it down just in time still a chance for liquid as they move in on the retake this rifle still standing still up and looking to try and best glaive in the graveyard but he's just not giving up anything and there's the double swing grim's put down as well in astralis they're on to three they get the conversion it's a damn good try right stewie barreling past the long player dropping the bomb but ultimately it's it's that decision from glaive and magisk in the 2v2 to wait and swing together onto the short player elige with the m4 that ultimately ends up closing that round out for them yeah if nafta can stay alive a few seconds longer there that certainly could have been a liquid round but right but it puts up so much pressure to at least allow stewie to get through in the first place that's an annoying one to lose for liquid you know how close it came you know 10 seconds are left when that plant happened and astralis now have forced their hand at the eco liquid have to give it up they have to respect their opponent i mean look at who it is on the other side heavy a setup b is empty right now will australis work that one out with liquid having played tucked in many of these rounds prior device is on a bit of a mission to figure this one out as he gets flashed on in he's not going fast though and that bomb is still back in spawn zip might figure this out the hard way molly to burn liquid back there's a tick to a liege but nothing more and now astralis piecing together this round they've worked it out b is clear this is a free round for astralis and they know it they're very very happy with how this one's panned out and even though they know that b site is clear you'll note that guys like zip still waiting here in ultimate also having this crossfire set up with dupreeh it's going to be pretty devastating to these pistols and astralis they're trying to kill hunt well they do get punished on dupree zip now given up his position as well the rest of astralis are trying to come back to help out trying to uh to bail their teammate out of this rather awkward position and this runs the risk of maybe giving more kills over to liquid but it's only twist left and they're just circling him that is domination man yeah they lose two but they're trying to make a bit of a statement they're trying to get in liquids heads you know you've got to think right like astralis every time they've played liquid pride they've been very very used to having outbrain guys like nitro but with him there was at least that familiarity that kind of respect in terms of you know looking at astralis versus liquid to them stewie's pretty unproven in the igl role so they're trying to bully him early on they're trying to show like yeah we know what you're doing we're one step ahead of you and they're off to this 4-1 start but now we've got this now we've got this rifle round coming through for team liquid yeah think about how close that one gun round came for liquid with a single m4 on a lead right that was down to the two on two so liquid looking to get off to a hot start here nate's up b traded both ways device eats one stewie gives it up we've already seen liquid looking pretty keen to re-flash back into b in some of these rounds and uh retake that banana control pretty common to see those set mollies on car the smoke at the half all thrown over from the safety of b grimm is lining something up at that nature as well and a remolly for stew slows it down yet again but astralis they've got all the time in the world happy to wait it out two smokes one molotov and an entourage of flashes for this t side so just enough for a b execute what that means as well is liquid if the astralis need to force liquids util and their hand out right here right now if they try and throw an execute in and liquid dropper molly drop a smoke then astralis they'll have to commit through or wait for the util to fade could be quite the problem they only have one smoke left up one gets replenished naff cuts it off again and says if you want mid you can have it we're we believe in our behold we believe in our two-man setup although that's not where this one will end the quid holding strong with three on this a site magisk looking for a gap in the smoke liquid giving nothing over at b and astralis set up for what looks like the 30-second execute on a and looking at the a site outside of the one flashbang on a leash that's all team liquid have to try and slow this down and it's already been thrown into the apartments that flash gets nothing done for liquid so now you're relying on the aim and the aim alone there's the support from nafta bale twists out and naf's putting on a bit of a show there's no time for magisk astralis they get swept under the rug by team liquid their naf makes it look easy with that crossfire between the balcony player and him they'll put that second round on the board for liquid and it's a dominant one of that so suddenly these concerns of like yeah you know they get this by maybe a little lackluster in terms of kits in terms of util well none of that ends up coming back to her liquid puts on a bit of a shooting gallery a bit of a master class for us all just barreling through the moto smoke yeah nav is a player who's have really good adjustments and reads on rotations in this tournament as well in the games we've seen from liquid right not falling for rotating be early there as he has been in many of these rounds and in fairness they have often ended b but uh right there and then sticking to his spot and being in the right place to help out liquid on that crossfire saved ak pistols elsewhere strauss already taking a breather and this one's off to a hot and heavy start right money going both ways no clear victor in sight bit of aggro beach that's the one gun gone duprey does have kevlar will that weapon be thrown over to him they've got to meet him in the middle first glaive has picked it up and scampered out of there alive stewie's gone even further free smoke for liquid astralis have no grenades in this round it's all about the gunfight it's all about the battle of dupreeh trying to regain this banana control grim can set you up with a flash as well this has been quite the one-two punch for liquid on this b-bomb site is it gonna be able to hold strong with stew in such a committed position well let's draw this check it as well because grimm is trying to bait them in grimm's trying to give the illusion by the way we're not here but stewie he definitely is oh he sends astralis packing and stewie is on for the ace they're trying to give it to him but twist will take it away a great round though a great bait and switch set up down towards the banana grim on that jump that's just that that's the bait right that's the little cue that you're giving astralis oh we're playing passive at b we don't have anyone push down why would we well look at this stewie is completely unexpected the guns weren't looking at him and he goes on a tear so now three on the board for liquid and this is already a very very good start right like it's early days i don't want to be building anything up where where maybe there isn't but last time we saw liquid in astralis play on inferno it was kind of fairly recently back at that dreamhack masters winter and there they managed to five round ct side well already they're well and truly on their way to that there it was all thanks to like a little late streak earlier on sorry later on in the half well here they've hit the ground running and that is a necessity for liquid yeah something stewie said in that interview earlier was uh the fact that you know astralis don't feel like the the astralis that liquid have played online at those big tournaments so liquid feeling more confident than ever looking to end the year on a high there's that retake utility we see coming out from liquid trying to regain banana control they don't push in too heavy-handedly with it and astralis are keen to give it up jumping back through the smoke and conceding this position still looking to retake it in an instant grimlining the flash stewie again tucked in a little off angle they're not ready for this he's behind the sandbags look like you can see him there it is poking out the flash is late grim is alone and australis could just commit and take him down at the back of the site yeah that's exactly what liquid are worried about they're already pulling players around they're freaking out there's the flash to try and secure him up but he peaks a little early and through the smoke magisk actually wipes them out so grim is all alone finally there's a bit more supportive utility but they still best grip in the head to head he has given liquid a bit more stock in this retake a bit of a fighting chance his naf and twist left on the other side and that's ct smoke having to get replenished by astralis there is a bit of a gap in it no we'll deny the bomb plan as well through the smoke and now there is a real opportunity for liquid to somehow pull this back from the brink of defeat device with the swing cannot get it done and team liquid tires up at four to four that is unreal man they were going men down throughout that entire thing grim puts on that great hold in the back of the site in what was a three on five if you remember at that point nafta died in the bomb plant as well absolutely huge we're seeing stuff from astralis that we're not used to seeing miss smokes that ct smoke has a huge gap not not only is nap wool banging out the planter but then twist can come in with another kill to zip as well so yeah those are mistakes for astralis that will cost them rounds the little details that have a big impact and more so for liquid than not grim hey he may have peeked into the flash but he still doubles down and sets liquid up for a round that pushes astralis to pistols it's their pick in the series one of many a bo5 with two bands nothing surprising there in the veto just walking up short he's got a lovely little timing here but there's four players for liquid to play that trade luckily the flash doesn't hit him that could have been the tag that gives everything away to liquid they still got their eyes on the prize twist though deed out of the pit by dupree stewie on long on that rotate bomb is far back dropping the molly they're gonna go right through it no fear for astralis and no reason to be because glaive picks up another and these deeds are coming to life for liege pushing back it doesn't see the porch player still finding a one for one and dupre left in a clutch without the bomb oh no but he tries to go for it he thinks he's safe and that's where grim coming up through the banana gives that little one-two punch in favor of liquid gets that trade denies the bomb pick up puts five on the board and dupri's the eagle can't do much when it's beyond the grave now that reinvestment coming through liquid in the lead and as mentioned this is as many ct rounds as they managed to get total last time they faced astralis while here and now they are making a bit of a statement yeah we've had some broken buys on both sides now we have the awp so cash is starting to build up for liquid with cleaner and cleaner rounds that one certainly wasn't but i think you just take what rounds you can get when you're up against the danes boost up for stewie doing something different every round pushing through playing aggressive on this flank tucked it sandbags flashed in by grim now he's going on the other side of the banana straw is taking that top mid control but again bomb drop back at mid will likely be retaking some semblance of b controls we have to smoke that molotov oh no it doesn't work it goes in deep and he burns to a crisp it was bullets or fire and stewie couldn't pick which it's a five on three astralis running round behind b grim needs something heroic and jumping through the smoke device can trade him and that's just the round there and then that is an unfortunate series of events for stewie and it's netted astralis a fifth man the smoke criminal doing hard time to that molotov at banana that is rough you really hate to see it that essentially is what makes the whole round fall apart right they deal with him and it's a nice attempt from grim to try and bail them out in any meaningful way you know you have to go huge like if you're looking at grim there really really he needed to kind of get all three if liquid wanted to feel at all comfortable there and with the ct rap coming in he knew his fate was sealed devices even hunting down these saving players really trying to punish team liquid twitch just wants to survive with the awp but look all across the map man this is astralis this is what we talk about they've loved being very very relentless in a lot of these games being really really punishing trying to take away everything they can but twist will survive he will live on with this awp it's still a big hunt though for for device right because just look at the money of liquid is pretty poor they might even be yeah i mean that smoke is unreal dude we know sometimes there are there are bugs when you drop a smoke on the molly and half the molly will extinguish but the other half won't that is just one that you can't control and what does liquid want to do with this money do they want to fully put it in yeah we got a ump a d double up for stuart he is miffed by that one he's going to come in with a big green naphth molly will bounce back down middle not going as deep as he would have liked but astralis up or anyway very fast at that we've actually got the double up as well so that's allowed for this four-man stack over towards eight in spite of that though it's only twists in the sight who could actually offer up resistance and with him getting told oh all right criminal leaves with the ump utility combo they might have made this doable after all this was looking like it could have been just a save right away for liquid and now suddenly a four on three they're enticed they're interested they're trying to give stewie a chance to shine on this orb they've boosted him up and over and he's been given a chance to find this pit player that's magisk knocked out of the round zip and device this was looking so good for astralis and now we're really relying on this flank from device to come through and come through its shell in glory as device puts up six for astralis he saves the day with that wrap back through the short side never checked by liquid they never saw him and so he gets away with flat out murder that is unreal as well four and two for liquid we know those double orbs can be a bit of a liability but they make the best of a bad situation naf has zip locked in as well there's no way device should be able to get all four but the spray the mow down and the denial on that defuse you love to see it astralis laughing all the way to the bank sonic even shocked that they picked that one up as well oh my i like the pace of that round as well for astralis right they just get to cycle those moto smokes they've gone in so early that they still have all their grenades for the post plant it keeps liquid out for a good amount of time and now stuck behind bars are liquid no money just the pistols at the back of the b bomb site boosted is stewie waiting for that contact play magisk oh boy he looks aware there's the thing that's stewie lovely damage matches getting put down low they know there's two at the back of dark now are they ready for the ct player that might as well run through you got nothing to lose if your naf fly coming in with the usp four glaive turns and the timing is perfect for astralis as they clean sweep this anti-eco liquid lost in the source may as well look for exits but device offering nothing up a real shame right naf tries to go for that hero play but the smoke actually hits him and gives away the fact that he's pushing the ct area that's why glaive hit that perfect timing on the turnaround and so it's a flawless round for astralis this is already so back and forth and really at this point right if you're the danes you're you're very very thankful to to device for him bailing out you out of that 2v4 round where he just delivers it all because it's had some pretty resounding implications here what with this eco round that has now extended the lead even further for astralis and liege was just hoping to do some economic damage maybe get out of it with a gun and he quickly realizes well that's not happening is it but that was only pistols right that was only a small part of this of this lengthy chapter that is this inferno game right now twist leading the way and that's that's very very promising he's he's been having a bit of a rough time recently both over in n.a but here at this event having like a kind of below average performance for himself he's been key you think about the position he plays as well over towards this a site right up on the balcony down towards pit he's a very very influential player and so with him stepping up that at least bodes well in repelling these a takes but this b site's been getting a pretty harsh astralis treatment yeah the patience is painful for liquid to deal with stewie tries to make a bit of a move and gets double needed down to 50. we do have a lot of utility for liquid in this round so again the aim of the game is just stalling astralis as long as they can using that clock to their advantage to pre-taken apartments often been here on his lonesome grave getting that long smoke that has been missing from time to time in multiple astralis games but it will be all fine and dandy for now retake utility of b liquid throwing in the molotov device is patient with absorb the first of this game as well in a gun round liquid don't have their own minute on the clock and you can see how aware of the control that australis have as well you know gladys just standing in the mid choke with nades out astralis know where liquid are what they're doing and likely to expect a triple a setup still as they've barely put any pressure on b since that early utility hall's lurk smoke coming out is zip going to be able to drop pit and most importantly can twist put a stop to it without molly complicates things to twist he smokes it off but now they know he's here and he is trapped in a cage of his own making trying to get out does get ahead of this smoke and he's given a bit more room to fight than astralis could be ready for there's one for twist and the wrap from elise is well timed and well played he's in with a double oh make it a third and he might end this whole thing it's him and swiss coming together in a blaze of glory six on the board for liquid and these a bomb site takes from astralis while they've often looked good out of the gate it has been like individuals stepping up putting a stop to it time and time again and this time with no individual on astralis to bail them out either yeah liquid have been so good at like stalling in these mid rounds when they know astralis are committing right twist isn't giving away those fights he's not swinging wide and elij we've seen him have huge impact on his aggro plays even in the second round of this map coming in pushing mid off of that long smoke flanking b and winning it there he does it again wrapping along to short and even more aggression for liquid is the port of cool push down mid for three players with the orb supporting magisk is holding and a liege won't find the drop in him liquid throw in the towel they give mid away to astralis with that pit going the wrong way it was a nice try i like the change of pace for liquid right no longer at the bane of astralis is executed they try and take early kills not gonna be gifted anything though and now astralis these are the rounds that you you know while the numbers maybe haven't been great for them in this event you you would hope that they can weather the storm plenty of util plenty of time and the man advantage with liquid split 2-2 naf long orb and match is selling b will the bomb go back and join him it's a double ct setup for liquid that will at least speed up the rotations if they want to give this a go on a and that certainly seems like the play for astralis more smokes in plenty of time to get up into the site they're going to try and wrap the long side they force nap off with europe due to them being down on a player he's gone through that smoke again and device catches him coming right back b is open for the taking stewie's in spawn are astralis ready for it they're doubling back in middle they're not going to wrap b with magician they're going to take short instead where only twist sits oh the flash is brutal leaves him blind to spray while it is good for one that's all he can muster and it falls to stewie now he has bypassed this player wrapping ct they don't know he's here they don't know that he's in the site duprey needs to win this and indeed he will just about but that becomes so important essentially for stewie there he's 1v2 and if he deals with that he knows the other players are already wrapping b he heard them for crying out loud he dodged capture back in ct moments ago that almost gets scary for astralis and this punishing style the counter strike that we're seeing out of them where they are trying to take everything away very very nearly could have come back to punish them all hunting man do you pre-spam to smoke off the bomb if i think that you know it makes stewie like jump scared if he doesn't make a shot though if he tries to hide behind the box there's a world where he can stick that defuse later on but not really realistic right and he doesn't know that all of astralis are hunting him down in what was expected to be a b play that was quite the take quite the fake for astralis feigning amid to be doubling back on the short side and trading effectively as they often do it's eight to six strata seem to run away with the t side half it's a better showing from liquid than last time but it's still astralis right in the story they get a pick early up a day push through the smoke was a legion now astralis back up for what should be a b execute with this long lurk player now no caught out in the flash and twist blind as well it's a perfect flashbanger from glaive and device even catches grim re-aggressing it looked like an a-play and now it will be astralis had the bomb and banana but with all those kills going their way there's only sku to stop him and he can't do much finding device but the a sight is lost yeah this is looking like that 9-6 solidified right and stewie he's kind of having to come without come to terms with that now during this uh it's closing time or the bombs ticking away they're even hunting him and they'll find him it's the clash of the igl's there to round out that half astralis in the lead but team liquid hot on their heels and this first map it's a bit of a trailblazer i don't think in the beginning of my career that i was really interested in being an ideal honestly i think mort just came to me because i was playing in team where we had ideas so eventually just made sense to someone as like a leader type outside the game as well to step up and be the guy calling the shots um but yeah i think i kind of fell in love with it as it starts working with it because i think it's a fun aspect and it gives me a lot of opportunities to work on stuff outside the game not only by individual level so yeah it didn't really it wasn't something i started out as but it was something i kind of fell in love with um i think joining liquid i just had that natural leadership i always helped nick a mid-round call or you know just give him ideas and nick had elige and adren but even before in cloud nine i kind of already held mid game but we kind of started losing the core players like jordan shroud and we didn't really have an in-game leader and the north american region doesn't have many talents they don't really play the igl roles so i decided to take it on cloud9 and then on liquid nitro decided to leave and i know elige twist and f they're not the type to igos so someone has to do it and i'm just kind of filling it in and feeling out right now yeah i think an ideal sacrifice or some stuff in the sense that i think there's a lot more work for me than the rest of my teammates for example always when we're doing anti-strep and all that i always have to be very involved with it so i know exactly how to react in all the different situations and all that and at the same time usually if we need new pistols or new rounds or new stretch then i'm also the guy sitting and doing that outside of the outside of practice but for me personally i enjoy it so it's not really like a hassle for me but i do think there's a lot of extra work for an ideal that a lot of other people might not see i think also as an igl you have to be good to push yourself to still like keep up your individual level because it's very easy when you're maybe watching two or three demos a day and then be like ah i don't like my job now but you also need to be able to still play good individually so after all of that then you need to go on the server and still practice your own skill so i think there's a lot of work to being ideal that i think a lot of other people might not see oh it's the best of five grand final featuring astralis and team liquid we are one half through we are into the second half of inferno and right now the danes are leading the way but do not fret north america because team liquid they've put on a good showing they've got six to their name and they're trying to keep this one competitive we've seen a lot of bright moments here out of team liquid they're looking prime they're looking warmed up and for a team that's occasionally been plagued with these slow starts with this ability to get off on the wrong foot that might prove to be more important than ever with them fielding a competitive first half yeah triple b for astralis liquid did the same and it lost them the pig are we going to see the same aggression from astralis not without measure not without utility grenades going down and the deep smoke keeps liquid out but they are longing for that a site instead duprey here's the feet pittering and patterning at the top of middle and liquid already have to deal with the three-man hold as astralis have sent zip right back on the long side and this you know when this execute comes in they can fast flank astralis can come in on a big mid rap liquid need kills and they need them now they need to overrun this ace site oh they don't spot the balcony player and so as a result dupree and magis just get away with an absolute slaughter oh no one's even looking oh magic reigning death down from a bar but he can't believe it he was never checked so many players looking that way and i think you see the pressure that liquid are under there right you see like the tunnel vision onto the crosshair anyone that's just outside of that kind of being bypassed kind of being ignored and that gives magisk a lot more room they don't even know where they're getting shot from just crunch time for astralis laying waste the team liquid in that first pistol yeah the vibes are good in the astralis camera that's something you can say for sure they know this grand finals within reach they want to end the year potentially stealing back that number one spot man there was a time in 2020 when they fell out of the top 10. we wondered how long it would take to get back only a couple of months apparently still within grasp mp5 sd for device seeing that more and more liquid just giving it up giving a big eco in right if it was a bomb part of the pistol maybe they go for the ak deagles but for now just taking things slow and steady getting their gun rounds in as soon as they can means that this round will likely be nothing but a wash liquid looking to get cleaned up by this org dupree running it short side we've seen more and more oxford astralis especially on train against navi yesterday zip dupree these players are running that weapon uh up on that ct side device mows down a couple and it's nice and clean and easy for astralis 11-6 all things going as they should but now can liquid turn the tide oh it's an attempt at the bonus round here for astralis they're really trying to push the boat out they're really trying to push their luck they bring only smgs alongside that famous and org meanwhile for liquid they've got pretty much everything they could need stewie even taking the hit for the rest of his team playing smg in this round in favor of all this extra utility and he's going to dump it all into top banana that keeps astralis at bay they were playing triple b to try and contest this banana control to try and get a hold of it early on like what we've seen from them in that pistol and the follow-up anti-eko at that instead they're forced to be a bit more measured stewie demanding respect from banana there's so many rounds they could have flashed back in and regained top b astralis are doing the same on this bonus round an aggressive maneuver that liquid won't be putting a stop to similarly reserved as astralis were boost up and spawn and you'll notice dupreeh's already begun to rotate right back they've read into this one well liquid oh no they're walking into a four-man setup the question is will astralis get there in time they're still that long smoke down liquid are walking up short with only two in the sight i say only it's magician device you know what device hidden in that smoke up on the balcony now badge is looking to make a bit of a stand how's he going away with that there's a bit of a response coming through from a legion that is incredible for a magister flick back into the apartments and just like that he has at least given zip and glaive with these smgs a lot more to play with in this round would have been a done deal if not for magic's heroics and so now astralis still looking to make this retake happen low on time but with the kit on zip that certainly helps out they look to separate these fights and they jump shot a liege out of it now only good for one of them and the defuse gonna come through with seconds to spare is zip the last man standing and he is the man with that kit as well the retake coming in and that's going to be heartbreaking for team liquid that is essentially all undone on the back of just two men for astralis you throw everything at them you put it all against them down in the pit and yet still magisk is able to get away with far more than he ever should have been allowed that's insulting from zip as well the jump shot onto a legion of pit naf tries to line them up but astralis trade as they often can and that's the bonus round one as well that's not only huge money made for astralis but another step forward to that favored 16. they are getting closer and closer and liquid haven't even really fielded a great t-side by their first by round we had an smg still in play now it's galil's and aks boost up top the orb is ready and device picks out stewie from the start backing up into b glaive does trade positions and look for some aggro but he's also swapped molotov's denying liquid banana flashed in for fights doesn't see naf the smoke is still down straws have three towards b they're expecting liquid to commit with his man disadvantage twist is looking for lurking kills in the apartment magisk is offering nothing up tucked behind the wall and re-smoking the hall as well four on eight astralis are so mobile man look at them just running as a pack back and forth between the bomb side to liege does get dinked and avoids the nade on the back out but they'll be going right back in double dipping a liquid as they look lusciously towards a i thought this have got the reader they've had a lot of these reads they're looking mean flash in foregrip but it's a little bit ugly oh that is just brutal glaive and zip nicks over towards long zip just spamming him through the smoke it's like you're being traced what can you even do there if you grim 25 seconds and i think twist enough no at this point this one's all said and done this is signed and sealed delivered by astralis and so they're just saving they're bowing out they're giving the respect over they're giving over a 13th and while our first half might have been competitive and we've had a couple of close rounds here astralis are really coming into their own over on this ct half yeah it's exciting to see these orcs carried forward as well right astronomers were a team that really really abused that krieg meta points as well when it was so powerful on the t side no longer the same case the org took a bit of a back cpc players like simple for example start to pick it up especially maps like ct nuke carrigan's been running that gun on on train for forever it feels like and now astralis are wielding those weapons even on inferno as well and it comes into great effect zip with that long spam catches grim you know they hear the tags the swing from i think it was glaive on the archway and astralis just cleaned up this half four in a row liquid yet to dance with the danes in their t half and the buys aren't going to get any better either right especially not when you're being forced to save in situations like this you're not getting that lost bonus you also don't want to full force around this you have to save some money but naf and twists are going to be poor moving forward a bomb plant in this round is almost a requirement and we've not had liquid in many of those situations yet something that is so wild is coming into this right for these two teams two of the more quiet folks that aren't often fitting into that category were magisk for astralis and twists for team liquid well they're both top performing right now including manchester being on 160 adr i think that just said then they've both been saving it for this grand final but then he loses all of our respect in one knife so you know what's that about device oh it's in that shot but it's the nades punishing naf twists trying to get out through long and that molly forces him to commit zip with this uh with this org back in library is just gross what can you even do to that if you're team liquid and the worst thing is whenever they have tried to challenge him at least in liquids experience there's normally been a player in arch as well just to complicate matters oh they're going back they know device was orping b at the start as well he was left alone now joined and the question on that rotate drawn by glaive who will just stick with the 2-2 trust in magisk in the pit oh sorry rather dupreeh magisk was dead early to stewie's deagle that's an aggression riagro for dupree does he commit with it they could uh spread out on this default so he's showing some presence towards banana keeping this orb uh honed in now joining his teammates back on a three on two somewhat of a favorable fight for liquid they still have that ak left on grim as well the problem is the lack of utility dupree just uh tucked down in the pit unwavering unmoving stewie needs a deeg shot and he does deck him zip finds a legion long he's got to hold strong oh he's so low stewie with the deagle can't finish the job missed shots ak picked up and the time is ticking away zip is stalling like a mad man giving nothing to stewie2k and this is embarrassing as astralis make liquid look like fools it's zip nicks with four and 14 found dear oh dear even when liquid come in with this buy against 14. harry keep in mind they've still not had what i would call is a proper t side by round in this map the saves don't help the lack of plants they have the europe here as well but two players on 3400 it's tough times for liquid economy and that might not have been like a like a clutch round in the sense that zip is like you know 1vx but essentially within the context of that a bomb site he is and he buys all that time to the point where even if he died there on to stewie the rotations had already arrived looking real crisp right now bringing back some of that all zipnics that we know and love and so liquid it all hinges on this now they worked hard to put up a good score line in that first half but this second after they found nothing so far not a single round and even in the ones where it looks like they're finally gonna get it we've had heroes step up for astralis liquid what's the game plan because this town this this map ain't big enough for the both of them he's on that entry up right now he's looking for openers he's looking for picks but reese smokes down for australis and nothing given over with a nade from zip down banana plus devices peak we're going to have this orbiting head-to-head battle and it's actually a tag for stewie warmed up off of those deeg shots looking for a little more but astralis can see the position and we know how fast glaive can be on this rotate if astralis think the liquid are committing they don't and they know not to make that mistake glaive holding on for an arch side rap as astralis double down in the pit liquid 30 seconds to get this execute into a there's the cap in this matches with the one way peeking through it and molly is gonna force him to take these fights but he just stands and he's fighting to the death and while he does burn out there's still another man down in the pit that's where stewie and twist collapse into the sight and in doing so this should be them at least staying afloat at least at least keeping this game alive that much longer they need a pretty clean round here and so astralis backing off showing the respect that's something that liquid are going to be very very happy about in a lot of these rounds astralis have looked to be purposefully punishing two-team liquid trying to take away as much as they can yeah i mean they've won two on fours before in this game already so yeah liquid take what they can get and that's a huge round with not just from the fact that it's their first t-side round but also they finally get to get away with guns four of which as well as the orb so money is now good for liquid a lifeline gifted over by astralis and that's the thing right you think about astralis and the teams they faced on the run up to this right i'm really looking at vitality and rv and we saw more of that punishing style there right and in those teams the awful it matters so much so that money matters so much and i would argue even more than it does in this liquid uh in this liquid squad and the fact that they're keeping up with that i think that's one of the reasons why we constantly see and it feels like liquid have a long long way to go they've never had that cash as mentioned they've never really had that proper buy it's always come with some kind of caveat well now they finally got one they've got that seventh round they've denied 15 to astralis but this journey to a comeback is still beginning for liquid with a long way left to go silent boost up should we take the orb into apartments now that is bold looking for the short pick but astrologers have been so passive and not giving away these early eight entries i say that magisk falls off the balcony stewie knocks him down a peg and now liquid an opener maybe another a missed shot for stewie the orb does tag him down device firing off on this a side liquid know that they have him trapped in default they're gonna double wrap back towards this ct spawn looking to take over b zip getting run down with the org the nade is good but naf with the trade and this bomb is still waiting back in the middle now another towards that b site and that should surely open things up for liquid all they know about his device they've lost dupree and that's why they're questioning this commitment into b but with device feeding the beast of stewie on his second now they know b is likely open i mean yeah they've got to know it right they've seen both these players over towards a that was always the intention was to take that bomb b or at least keep that option open right it was on the back of grim down at banana the entire time they know dupree was here they know he's pretty cheeky they know he might like to get out of this round with that awp and so we see just two players honed in on this position they are next door to one another and twisted stew might not be the nicest of neighbors here twist is even hunting down dupree and the timing just off for him he gets off the angle as twist swings into it it's eight on the board for liquid with that b rap naf coming alive really helps save that round with the double into ct and i think it's so much more than just that right it's it's the fact that you know that they find magisk over on the balcony well actually astralis were running a double balc set up and so if there was ever a moment that that bomb tried to try to kind of turn its way back towards the a site and liquid maybe commit to that push it would have all gone south so they're actually very very much helped out by the fact that dupree swings into the apartments and device gives up that fight at short side because suddenly you know they've pieced it all together they know where both the players are yeah and despite now getting a pick at long as well no one wraps ct with that play liquid cool pull the brakes and take a second so glaive tries to move in in anticipation of it being in a play that just offers up another kill to naf and long locked open 2b picks and liquid find an eighth okay you've got our attention liquid it's a broken buy for astralis pistols are out and liquid while we where we often look back historically and laugh at the choke laugh at the you know the fact that they can't close games liquid in this event have been very good at pulling things back after bad first halves after you know close halves that aren't necessarily favoring them and still longing out the game they've done it the heroic they've done it very big they've got to do it versus the best twist with a pickup in apartments just getting spammed out by that org duprey doesn't know unleashes up in apartments and dupreeh with a knife out caught by the spam oh it's close one more there it is that time's a charm for a liege liquid are still leaning over here towards b though even with those two a kills presenting themselves they may be looking at this one going well if they've pushed on a it might be stacked right they might have been going for these early info prods and so now liquid leaning back into this b site that does leave them at the mercy of these three astralis players as mentioned only pistols they haven't seen the man on the fountain and he's hidden so gets away with one on the usp but at this point you've seen both players left once again at b enough just forms those kills pads those stats all right now they've got our attention because you know for the longest while liquid had yet to accomplish anything on this t side even in favorable situations even in rounds where you know they get two openers and things are looking good but then suddenly a guy like madges steps up on this astralis side or finally they're getting results they're getting something for all this hard graft yeah do liquid get double digits or is this where astralis can just sweep them under the rug the orp is out and device stewie oh molly yeah he goes back he doesn't want to commit rb into what could be unknown territory it's now taken by astralis with another deep molotov of their own they won't hang around for long good grenades man as soon as the molly fades and he's chucked in it tags up stewie flick won't connect glaive is still fighting another he going even deeper and the smoke hits three that slows him down on his approach but he still hits a flick shot t side off and making it look easy a lot of these openers provided by stewie on the awp we often look to nav to be don in that weapon here for liquid with the exception of maps like dusk maps like mirage but t-side inferno all right stu what more have you got and all posted on his position and a minute on the clock it's a standoff who breaks the silence first it's surely gotta be stewie right because he's gonna have to swing into this now maybe with a flash maybe with something to give him that edge that's how he can look to find the opener because in this swing device is favored hands down oh i'll back off for a moment twist even going up through top mid trying to deny these rotations but they've got to get into b that's what it's all hinging on now glaive flashing himself for the wide swing but he's not good for anything as stewie provides the second opener to team liquid this bomb now going down and this is where twist can look to get activated because astralis is saving and twist is already here he planned for success in this round right he planned to take these guns away or cut off the rotations and he might just get away with it after all beautiful stuff yeah that that really is planning for success liquid full of confidence right now full of bravado stewie swapping out off the op on that banana take as well those devices though does pick up grim early but liquid trade it effectively and take down everyone and b magisk in the pit four hp no needs for liquid to dunk him down can they kill these players at the end of the round as magic stalls as long as he possibly can duprey has the cover and liquid at a certain point you don't want to fully send into this uh exit gonna get away with their own guns instead as they build rounds they build economy and they build confidence back up against astralis on this this ct sides map pick i don't know how stewie gets away with that opener as well right he's walking through the smoke the zip is peeking he gets hit by the smoke which slows him down and he still somehow finds that opener liquid relying on him for the picks and it's not with the rifles that he's getting it done 14-10 eco for astralis two safe guns and nothing more it's always nice when stewie is uh it is looking good right like you think about the opening game of the tournament for liquid when they went toe-to-toe with heroic the other danes that were here and they and they bodied them and that was largely on the back of at least it felt like stewie looking so good in some of these opening duels whenever you get those there's like reflections of old stew shining through where he is the man for the job on the entry not only does it just help liquid out massively because it gives that much more room over to these other stars in the team and it creates all this space but i think it reflects in the calling as well right there's a lot more planning for success here from liquid as opposed to kind of leaning into giving all this respect to your opponent they don't want to go through that and baited by the fact that stratos have had a lot of double long setups in the ct side right with glaivon uh archway and zip in the library instead it's a triple b and liquid they see that smoke they call the bluff they go back into the stack although unknowingly at that three here and both of the rifles for astralis poised perfectly for this take the flash is a good zip is hiding two pre-drops are smoking there's no molotov down but just with a spray only gets one the guns are gone it's zip still standing tall with the deagle finds an m4 and just needs to stay alive off the back of this smoke dropped by dupreeh liege dead through it and while twist trays it's come at a cost 20 seconds the plant needs to happen and the flanks are so fast yeah devices just missed that first timing but it's this bomb plan that scares me it's this bomb plant that's scary stewie with the turnaround we'll deal with device and so it's glaive left up all alone five seven out bomb working against him and a 1v2 to try and navigate stewie not missing a beat with the reed on the game the read on the flank and then best englave in the head to head i think you got to give so much credit to zipman in so many of these rounds right he is the only man left in these bomb sites and it feels like not only is he always good for like two kills in those situations but it's the amount of time that he wastes it's how uncomfortable he makes team liquid and yet still they rise to the occasion they put that 11th up and now they are closing the distance everyone on team liquid's starting to believe starting to get back into this and you can see the frustration there on dupree's face can device put a stop to it it's a quad a setup for astralis how to spawn they've got a heavy mid control they're boosting dupree the double setup with magisk swinging off of his contact stewie boosted again he died last time device was holding this position but instead backed up on long with only zip in the back of the b bomb site joined by glaive pretty shortly strawless have been very good at switching things up right not not necessarily the same players in the same positions every round not necessarily what you'd expect for liquid when you're looking at the kill feed you're thinking oh i killed the long player killed the b player but stralis still sneaking in different spots stewie here's that shot doubles portugal sees magisk who does take the kill dupreeh not even needed to do a thing is still here ready and waiting astralis can give it up dupreeh bounds out as they take the advantage yeah if you're astralis you know it's only a matter of time till the molotov start to fly in so that utility complements it and so they back out they take that man advantage as mentioned by yanko earlier on we know australis is this team that loved to play the numbers game right that was how they uh exploded interview all those years ago and so for liquid it's back to a desperate b plate an attempt to hold on to keep this comeback roaring to life the flashes are in it's glave and zip putting on a bit of a show but stewie wants to get us in with the openers and twist is actually looking to extend this into a two on two was trying to peek over that ct smoke now that it's faded he's had to drop down to oranges he's out here on a bit of a limb all alone stewie is the man to try and reclaim out through ct goes device and it's all left onto twist one versus three he fell down here earlier and now he's gonna put on a bit of a show but he can't divise curtains closed and astralis are on to 15 map points solidified it takes them a little while to get there but eventually they do break liquid down yeah that was a very nice try for liquid right you can see stewie misses one opportunity on that crossing player tries to flash back in misses another device eventually posts and wins that battle but if stewie hits it and then they back out without a trade liquid are in a great position so yeah you can understand why you want to be going for those kind of fights even so 15 for astralis it's luckily liquid built up quite the bank on this t side as a full investment will come right back through with the awp as well and that's been one of the weapons that has really got liquid to this score line can it keep them in the map can it drag them to overtime triple b for astralis device waiting on a very tight angle trying to peek off the back of the molly fade grim throwing another one in and device must respect it as to not burn brim still eats damage flashed up through the molotov device should have heard this the flash is good clay checks and yeah grim is caught fully blinded stewie hits the vice and takes a leg in the process still standing tall but the m4 should finish the job and glaive with the mow down for astralis he perishes no ace today it's twist alone and this should be a lost round a lost map astralis running rampant running wild on inferno it may have not been as clean

Channel: ESL Archives

Views: 159,562

Keywords: ESL, IEM, esports, gaming, competitive, esport, CSGO, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, CS Highlights, CS Live, CSGO Live, CS Live Stream, cs, intel, extreme, masters, china

Id: _bfStyXfuEY

Length: 59min 38sec (3578 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 20 2020