Team Liquid rout Evil Geniuses to win North American ESL Pro League division

The North American division was set up with six teams after the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible for teams to travel to Malta, where all group stage matches were due to be held. 

The event was played directly after the European division, which saw Fnatic defeat mousesports to take the top prize.

Still The Top Dog

Team Liquid reaffirmed their top-dog status after finishing the regular season in 1st place and advancing to the Grand Final through the upper bracket. While doing so, they beat Evil Geniuses, their fiercest rival in the region, twice, and again in the Grand Final starting the series 1-0 ahead thanks to their upper bracket advantage.

Nick “nitr0” Cannella and company soon extended their series lead to 2-0, with an imposing CT-side performance on Dust2, Team Liquid’s map pick.

Team Liquid wrapped up the Grand Final on Vertigo with a 16-9 victory, winning the series 3-0 and becoming the ESL Pro League Season 11 North America champions.

• Read more: ESL Pro League partners with Astralis and 12 other teams for Season 11

This latest achievement in the ESL Pro League comes ten months after they lifted the Season 9 Finals trophy in Montpellier, France.

The MVP

Keith “NAF” Markovic made his impact felt on both maps with multiple quad-kill rounds and a 1vs3 clutch. The Canadian player posted a 53:29 KD, 106.5 ADR, and 1.65 HLTV rating to lead his team to victory.

The Final Standings

Six teams shared a $219,000 prize pool in North America, with the champions Team Liquid earning $90,000 while the runners-up Evil Geniuses collect $45,000.

To supplement their placement earnings, the teams also earned $5,000 for each group stage match they won.

The full standings can be found below:

1. Liquid
2. Evil Geniuses
3. FURIA
4. MIBR
5. 100 Thieves
6. Swole Patrol