Cover-Credits:
With the group stage of Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) being concluded yesterday, the time has come for the Playoffs stage to begin. In one of the first upper bracket matches, one of the tournament favorites Team Liquid faced off against Southeast Asian underdogs Polaris Esports. With both teams providing impressive plays during the best of three series, Team Liquid ended up on top as it defeated Polaris Esports 2-1.
Following the victory, Team Liquid will advance into the Semifinals of the Upper Bracket while Polaris Esports looks to avoid elimination against Wildcard Gaming later today.
Polaris Esports vs Team Liquid: Match recap
Team Liquid’s recent improvement in form did not go unnoticed by the community, as the team secured the top spot in its group after the group stages, only losing twice. Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen is seemingly determined to make it to TI11 Group Stages in his final hurrah putting up some ridiculous GPM & KDA numbers, and hence is one of the highest scoring players in fantasy leagues.
However, Polaris Esports were also looking to prove itself as it looks to qualify for its home TI.
Game One
In Game One, Team Liquid went for a very unusual draft as it picked up a carry Pudge, Shadow Fiend (SF) in the mid lane and Venomancer in the offlaner. Polaris on the other hand, picked up Lifestealer, Sniper and Death Prophet as its main lineup.
Polaris’s draft ended up backfiring as Team Liquid did not allow the core heroes of Polaris to have a good game. The game ended after 34 minutes, as Polaris were unable to stop Team Liquid’s aggressiveness in Game One with Michael "miCKe" Vu’s SF having a beyond godlike spree with a KDA of 13/0/4.
Game Two
In Game Two, Team Liquid were looking to close out the series 2-0 as it picked up Shadow Fiend for Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen, Invoker for miCKe and Dark Seer for Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg. Polaris opted to counter Liquid’s aggression by picking up the Pudge for John "Natsumi-" Vargas, Lina for Mc "Lelouch-" Villanueva and Mars for Nikko "Force" Bilocura.
Although Team Liquid had a good start in Game Two, this time it was Polaris Esports who dominated the game as the Lina-Pudge combo was too much for Liquid’s heroes. Game Two ended after 33 minutes as Polaris Esports forced Team Liquid into a Game Three decider.
Game Three
With a spot in the Upper Bracket Semi Finals on the line, both teams were looking to close out the series with a win. Polaris went for Monkey King, Void Spirit and Enigma for its core lineup while Liquid picked up Sniper, Pudge and Tidehunter.
While the first 20 minutes were closely even between both teams, MATUMBAMAN’s Sniper was having an amazing game as he shot Polaris’s heroes from afar to their deaths. Despite Polaris’s attempts to defend their base, Team Liquid managed to close out the series with a victory after 40 minutes.
Following the victory, Team Liquid will move on in the Upper Bracket as it awaits the victor of the Virtus.pro vs Vici Gaming series. Polaris Esports, meanwhile, have been dropped into the Lower Bracket. The team will be looking to avoid elimination from the LCQ as it faced off against Wildcard Gaming later today.
