Liquid have opened their PGL Masters Bucharest campaign with a 2-1 victory over MOUZ. After losing Ancient, they responded on Inferno with 16-12 and completed the comeback on Mirage with 13-11. The victory sends Liquid into the 1-0 pool, while MOUZ join the 0-1.
Keith “NAF” Markovic provided the series’ standout highlight with a 1v5 clutch to force overtime on Ancient. Although it ultimately proved insufficient to secure the overtime, Liquid seized their chances on the next two maps.
Liquid started brightly on MOUZ‘s pick, winning the opening 4 rounds and taking a 7-5 lead. MOUZ turned the game around in the second half, however, stringing together 5 rounds to reach map point at 12-9. Liquid saved all three, culminating in NAF‘s remarkable ace clutch, but MOUZ regained control in overtime to close out their pick.
Inferno brought another reversal. Liquid‘s 5-0 start disappeared as MOUZ won the next 8 rounds and forced overtime, but Liquid swept the extra rounds to level the series. Johnny “JT” Theodosiou finished this map with 26 kills, including four AK-47 headshots in round 27 to put his team on map point.
The decider remained finely balanced through a 6-6 first half before MOUZ moved ahead 10-7. Liquid responded with five consecutive rounds to reach series point, and although MOUZ briefly delayed them, they finished the job in regulation. Georgi “Jorko” Mitev led the way with 21 kills and 91.5 ADR as his team completed the reverse sweep.
