Liquid Shock NAVI in Dramatic Series | BLAST Fall Groups 2024

In Group D of the BLAST Fall Groups 2024 event, we've seen some incredible Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports thus far, and at the heart of the commotion is Team Liquid's new roster, featuring the new AWPer, Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak, as well as Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage and coach Torbjørn "⁠mithR⁠" Nyborg. 

First, they gave Virtus.pro a smackdown, and on Day 4 of BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024, Team Liquid shocked NAVI in a dramatic 2-1 win!

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Going into the event, NAVI was a clear favorite, and the new Team Liquid was untested in S-Tier events. In fact, it was Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak's first top-tier professional CS2 match, and the young Polish player didn't disappoint.

On Liquid's map pick of Anubis, the side narrowly escaped the wrath of NAVI with a 13-11 win after scoring 9 rounds on the T side in the second half. Then, on NAVI's map pick of Mirage, they absolutely stomped Team Liquid to the ground with a 13-2 win, and despite the series score reading 1-1, most fans thought it was over for Liquid after that stomping.

The third and deciding map of Inferno was too close to call, but it was again some insane clutches by the young gun Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak, standing his ground in a 2v1 clutch situation to give Liquid the edge at 9-8. 

To get Liquid to double-digits first, Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak pulled off a 3v1 clutch in the post-plant, and while he died against the last CT, the bomb exploded, giving Liquid the win.

NAVI pulled one back, and to make it 11-12, Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy got four kills (two headshots) on the B site defense to keep NAVI in the match.

The heart-pounding action continued until the last round of play when Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage was left in a 2v1 clutch situation on the A bombsite in a post-plant defense. While NAVI's IGL, Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, did end up killing Mr Savage, it was too late, with no time left to defuse the bomb.

WHAT. AN. ENDING. 🤯#BLASTPremier@TeamLiquidCS@NAFFLYpic.twitter.com/recA9Owtha

— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) August 1, 2024

If Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage died a moment sooner, NAVI would have forced overtime with a 12-12 score on Inferno, and who knows what would have happened. Instead, Team Liquid finished off NAVI in dramatic fashion, claiming a spot in the final of Group D.

Canadian duo Keith "NAF" Markovic and Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken topped the scoreboard for Team Liquid, while NAVI's Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy was the overall top performer. NAVI will now have to face BIG to stay alive in the BLAST Fall Groups 2024. BIG, of course, caused the second upset of Group D, eliminating Virtus.pro from the competition.

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