Reigning champions of IEM Katowice, FaZe Clan, has been bundled out of the IEM Katowice 2023 edition on Tuesday after a defeat to Team Liquid.
It is the first time in close to two years that Team Liquid will get a win over them while snatching a final playoff spot.
Furthermore, it is the first time the Team Liquid roster will get a win over ex-teammate Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken on LAN.
One of the key players to the win is Liquid’s primary AWPer Josh “oSee” Ohm. Surprisingly, oSee has been inconsistent in the last few games for Team Liquid. Ironically, oSee showed precision, consistency, and playmaking to average a +5 K/D and register his best average player rating across a three-map series.
It was his best showing since the BLAST World Final, where he helped Liquid secure a win over Outsiders. Liquid lost 16-14 after messing up the last two rounds despite their performance in the early parts of the series, which almost saw them steal FaZe’s pick of inferno.
Nevertheless, the NA roster didn’t back down and managed to retaliate while on Overpass, as they accumulated a five-round winning streak to close out both halves, which sent the series to Mirage.
Mirage was a good ground for Liquid, who kept FaZe’s economy down for the whole of the first half. FaZe tried to force a comeback in the second half, taking the lead, but their efforts were overpowered by the playmaking abilities of nitr0, YEKINDAR, and oSee, which helped Liquid win 16-13.
Liquid’s EliGE was surprisingly silent despite consistently posting positive series player ratings in recent games. In fact, it is the first time he will post a negative in a game that Liquid won.
Team Liquid will play Vitality in the first round of the playoffs.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
