This is the first elimination match of VCT Champions Paris, with Team Liquid taking on EDward Gaming (EDG), and it ends in chaos that spans all three maps.
This is the fourth time these two teams have faced each other in VCT, and Team Liquid is the Goliath to EDG’s David, as Liquid is 2-1 over EDG.
EDG got their first win over Team Liquid during VCT Masters Shanghai.
Going into this match, EDG would look to tie up the record, but most importantly, look to eliminate Team Liquid.
For Team Liquid, they weren’t too worried as they would get to pick the first map of the series.
Team Liquid chose Sunset, which wasn’t their strongest map, as they had a 50 per cent win rate, which was the same for EDG as well.
With both teams having a 50 per cent win rate, they would be on an even playing field, and statistically, it looked like it was an even match-up.
In the first half, EDG were in absolute control, gaining an enormous lead of 11-1, and KangKang would be leading the team with 21 kills, 5 deaths and a single assist.
Going into the second half, EDG would take the first round, taking match point.
Team Liquid would win two more rounds before EDG would take the final round to bring it to a 13-3 blowout on Sunset.
EDG’s KangKang took map MVP with 22 kills, 9 deaths and a single assist.
After a devastating loss in the first map of the elimination stage, Team Liquid needed to win map two if they wanted to stay alive.
Going into map two, EDG would get to choose which map they want.
EDG chose Abyss, which is a strange choice as they had a 50 per cent win rate on the map and played it twice this season.
Team Liquid, on the other hand, has a record of 5-1 and a win rate of 8 per cent.
Team Liquid would start map two Red hot, with them taking control of the first half with a lead of 9-3.
Liquids In-game lead (IGL) nAts would be leading in the half with 22 kills and 4 deaths.
Most fans expected a big comeback from EDG and wanted to see a 9-3 comeback, but unfortunately for them, Team Liquid would drop three rounds to win the next 4 rounds to tie the series 1-1.
nAts would take home the map MVP on Abyss with 27 kills and 7 deaths.
Now tied, both teams would go to the decider map Bind, with one map left, and one team will stay alive, and the other will go home.
The first half would have Team Liquid on the offence and EDG on defence, and both teams would be locked in during this half.
Both teams started to trade streaks, with Team Liquid starting their run with a 3-1 round win streak.
EDG quickly made a comeback and took the lead by winning four rounds in a row, showing off how great their defence is.
Before they could extend their lead, Team Liquid would win three rounds in a row to gain the lead back, but EDG would take the final round, tying the match at 6-6.
At the half, Nats would lead Team Liquid with 14 kills and 9 deaths, while Smoggy would lead EDG with 16 kills, 12 deaths and 8 assists.
In the second half, both teams would switch, but would again be trading rounds, going back and forth, not letting any lead extend past a round.
The second half would be tied 12-12 and would be pushed into overtime.
EDG would get the psychological advantage by winning the first round in overtime, making it 13-12 in their favour.
Ultimately, the mind games wouldn’t work as Team Liquid would become aggressive, wiping out EDG and winning three rounds in a row to take map three.
Team Liquid would win 2-1 and eliminate EDward Gaming from the competition, marking them as the first team to fall in the group stage.
Team Liquid stays alive to face DRX in a decider match to see who will advance to the playoffs of VCT Champions Paris 2025.