Cover-Credits:
Team Liquid came out firing on all cylinders against Tundra Esports in the lower bracket quarterfinals of the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, achieving a 2-0 sweep and staying in contention for the championship title. As in the previous lower bracket series and in the overall tournament, Liquid had to fight for a lot of its wins, however, the team displayed the top form it had shown over the past few months and beat Tundra. While playing the lane, performing map maneuvers, or participating in teamfights, Liquid was always one step ahead of its opponents. Tundra finished 5th-6th, earning $25,000 USD in prize money and 300 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points in the process.
Tundra Esports vs Team Liquid: Match recap and highlights
Recap
In game 1, both teams played at a leisurely tempo. While Tundra attempted some kill-finding moves that were generally unsuccessful, both teams looked to be comfortable with farming on their cores and then battling head on. As the game progressed, it became evident that Liquid's cores were significantly more powerful than Tundra's, who could only rely on skiter's Naga Siren as he had generated enough farm. As Tundra failed to have enough control and Liquid's advantage grew out of hand, the squad made the 48-minute victory appear easy. Nine's Void Spirit had a difficult game and was unable to make an impact for Tundra, finishing with an 0-6-1 KDA.
In game 2, Tundra went for a last pick Axe, which was a strong decision on paper. While this lane performed well against its opponents, the other two did not go as anticipated, with Liquid making the correct moves to seize the lead. The team got an early kill on Nine's Dragon Knight to give Nisha a head start, and in the offlane, they made sure to go aggressive on skiter's Ursa with a Beastmaster and Techies lane. Despite Tundra's attempts to play Liquid head on, it was the same narrative as Liquid just had flawless execution on the day and rolled over the opposition to take game two in 38 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
The performance of Team Liquid today demonstrated that the expectations for the team’s level of play at the start of the tournament were not unfounded. Tundra was in great form, having topped Group B in this tournament as well, but the play by Liquid made Tundra look lackluster at so many points in the series.
Even though Tundra showed a surge in form, getting knocked out after two consecutive losses is definitely disappointing. The team was thoroughly overwhelmed in this series, and Tundra's midlaner, Leon "Nine" Kirilin, appeared out of place with 0-6-1 and 3-10-4 KDAs in the two games.
After having defeated Xtreme Gaming, Team Aster, and Tundra Esports in the lower bracket, Liquid is all set for the next round where it will either face Evil Geniuses or set up a rematch against OG.
