Team Liquid has been able to avoid early elimination from the 2019 League of Legends World Championship.
They got their momentum back through one clutch Baron Steal today, reigniting their dream of making it out of the group stage of the competition.
Tournament favorites, DAMWON, and Invictus Gaming are already sitting at 2-1. This made the match against AHQ Esports Club a must-win for the 1-1 Liquid.
North America’s first seed initially looked like going home after several poorly-played teamfights led to a 7,000 gold deficit. It became a one-sided teamfight when a well-placed Rumble Equalizer was delivered by AHQ top laner Chen “Ziv” Yi at the 36-minute, which nearly cemented the Taiwanese team’s victory.
Liquid’s ADC Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng Xayah frontlined the fight and got caught by the opposing Nautilus’ Dredge Line, adding to their worries.
With three Liquid players already taken out and four AHQ players alive, it was like the North American’s best chance would fall to 1-2. Despite pushing mid-hard, the Taiwanese were only able to take out an Inhibitor.
With the sweet nectar of their first World’s victory in sight, AHQ may have gotten overzealous as they failed to reset before starting Baron, which gave Liquid the chance to quickly rush to the crucial objective.
As the Baron’s health kept dropping quickly, Liquid’s jungle powerhouse Jake “Xmithie” Puchero was the saviour of the day. Xmitthie combined Gragas’ Barrel Roll and Explosive Cask along with a clutch Smite to secure the Baron buff for his team. That led to the downfall of AHQ.
Shortly after, Liquid claimed Elder Dragon. This increased the strength of the team’s Dragon Slayer buff from two Infernals and one Mountain as they were they closed out the game with one more deciding teamfight.
With their unpretty victory, Liquid in Group D sits in a three-way tie with DAMWON and IG. On the other hand, AHQ may be out of the competition after losing 0-3.
The liquid will take on DAMWON on Oct. 20 at 8 am CT. This will be followed by AHQ at 9 am CT and IG at 12 pm CT. Fans will surely have swell moments.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
