Betclic claims victory over Liquid in Stake Pulse Beat I final

Betclic emerged as champions of the Stake Pulse Beat I after defeating Liquid in a thrilling grand final in Sweden. The Polish squad executed a reverse sweep, taking the series with scores of 11-13 on Cache, 13-10 on Anubis, and 13-7 on Nuke.

This victory propelled Betclic 34 spots up the VRS rankings, entering them into the top 50, while also boosting their confidence ahead of the Esports World Cup Open Qualifier set to kick off on Friday. For Liquid, the outcome marked a continued struggle with their seven-year LAN trophy drought. Despite the promising integration of new players Georgi "⁠Jorko⁠" Mitev and Johnny "⁠JT⁠" Theodosiou into the roster, they fell short in the final.

Liquid showcased potential during the tournament, having qualified for the BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals with recent wins over teams such as Vitality and G2. However, they faced challenges in Stockholm following a loss to Spirit on LAN and had to quickly regroup. Their path to the finals included a narrow win against Betclic in the Group B winners match and clean victories over 9INE and fnatic, which helped elevate them into the top 20 of the VRS.

In the final, Liquid started strong on Cache, gaining a 9-2 advantage. However, a missed opportunity to secure a round after a 5v2 lead led to a loss of momentum, and they barely closed out the map 13-11, with NAF expressing frustration about the team's performance.

The struggles continued on Anubis where Liquid had a lead of 6-2 and later 10-8, but a loss to pistols shifted the tide in favor of Betclic, aided by impactful plays from Wojciech "⁠Prism⁠" Zięba and Konrad "⁠Qlocuu⁠" Klocek who helped them secure a crucial win.

On Nuke, Betclic took control early, with Prism and Sebastian "⁠fr3nd⁠" Kuśmierz dismantling Liquid's strategies, eventually leading to a match point situation that ended the series decisively.