To begin their ESL Pro League Season 17 campaign, Rare Atom shocked #Liquid, sending Nick #nitr0 Cannella and the rest of the team to the lower bracket where they will face Natus Vincere and #Astralis. From the beginning of the series until its end, the Chinese team controlled Liquid, destroying the North American team’s fortifications on Inferno before finishing the game with an impenetrable CT side on Overpass.
Game opener
Multi-kill rounds from Qianhao #Moseyuh Chen gave Rare Atom the opportunity to take early control of Inferno, and their choice of the map and unrelenting aggression in banana served to maintain pressure on Liquid. The Chinese team dominated the T side with an enormous 8-3 advantage thanks to spray transfers and quick entry kills, with Liquid only marginally stabilizing toward the end of the half to advance up to six rounds.
On the CT side, Rare Atom didn’t relent once, and Andrew #Kaze Khong’s incredible P2000 triple kill kept his squad in charge. Mareks #YEKINDAR Gainskis’ ace and 1v4 clutch were Liquid’s only relief in the early going, but Rare Atom quickly countered and advanced to match point, 15-7, so that round provided little comfort. Liquid then made four effective bombsite assaults, which helped to narrow the gap between the teams a little bit, but they did not change the outcome; instead, Rare Atom capitalized on their advantage to win the map 16-11.
In the first part of the map, there was little chance of Liquid recovering on their own choice of Overpass. Moseyuh and Jingxiang #Mercury Wang gave outstanding individual displays and a tenacious defense. Nearly the entire map saw them demolish the North American team, with Liquid only managing to win a pitiful three rounds by intermission.
Once the second half began, Rare Atom immediately put pressure on Liquid, quickly putting an end to the series with a commanding 16-3 win after turning a pistol round success into four consecutive victories.
What’s next?
In order to progress without having to go through the lower bracket, Rare Atom must defeat the winner of ATK versus ENCE on Thursday at 19:30. They have one series triumph standing between them and a place in the ESL Pro League Season 17 finals.
Meanwhile, Liquid has a significantly harder path through to the playoffs, the North American team join Natus Vincere and Astralis in the lower bracket, where just one spot offers a spot in the playoffs, and must first compete against the victor of the aforementioned games in order to avoid being dropped to the last-chance round.
