1win eliminate Liquid as 100 Thieves and BC.Game advance in EWC qualifier

Liquid’s Esports World Cup qualification bid ended in the first round of the playoffs as 1win delivered the headline result from a punishing section of the bracket in Paris. The recently signed Russian lineup defeated Liquid 2–1, while Acend removed FOKUS in another three-map series.

BC.Game and 100 Thieves encountered less resistance. BC.Game swept OG behind a dominant performance from Senzu, and 100 Thieves dismissed INFINITE without losing a map. The four winners moved into the round of 16, but only one team from this eight-team section can claim an EWC 2026 main-event place.

The qualifier began with 64 teams in GSL best-of-three groups before switching to a 32-team, single-elimination playoff bracket. Four teams will qualify for the main event, with each quarter-final functioning as a direct qualification match.

Quick Results

Main Storylines

The collapse of Liquid was the central development. They had reached the final of Stake Pulse Beat I only four days earlier and advanced from their EWC qualifier group without dropping a map, but they could not manage 1win’s offense on Dust2 or contain BELCHONOKK on the Cache decider. Liquid’s Anubis response showed that the series was recoverable; their inability to reproduce that level on the third map made the exit particularly damaging.

For 1win, the result provided immediate validation for an organization that acquired the former TDK lineup on August 1. The team retained the established nafany, Ax1Le and groove axis while adding fame, ArtFr0st and BELCHONOKK to the active five. Eight days after the transfer was announced, that roster had its first major scalp under the 1win banner.

The two clean victories also carried different messages. BC.Game did not need s1mple to lead the scoreboard because Senzu overwhelmed OG across both maps. For 100 Thieves, the encouraging feature was balance: poiii, Gizmy and rain all finished with ratings of at least 1.30 as the team extended its perfect map record at the qualifier to 6–0.

Cache was another thread connecting the section. It appeared in three of the four series: FOKUS used it to force a decider, BELCHONOKK took over the map to eliminate Liquid, and Senzu dominated it to complete BC.Game’s sweep. Cache is part of the qualifier’s seven-map pool alongside Dust2, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient and Anubis.

Match Breakdown

1win eliminate Liquid 2–1

Liquid recovered from a disastrous opening map, but their series was ultimately defined by two one-sided defensive halves from 1win and an exceptional decider from BELCHONOKK. The Russian side won both its own Dust2 pick and the neutral Cache decider by six or more rounds.

Dust2 — 1win 13–5

1win established control with a 10–2 attacking half. nafany and Ax1Le helped drive a patient offense that repeatedly denied Liquid the opportunity to stabilize their economy or string defensive rounds together.

Liquid won an early force-buy after the side switch, but it did not trigger a meaningful comeback. 1win secured the three rounds required to close the map and immediately placed pressure on Liquid’s Anubis pick.

Anubis — Liquid 13–6

Liquid responded with their own 9–3 opening half. malbsMd supplied the initial impact on the defense, while Jorko and EliGE ensured 1win could not build momentum after the break.

Jorko was Liquid’s most productive player on the map, finishing 20–10 with 107.0 ADR and a 1.50 Rating 3.0. Liquid’s faster rotations and cleaner opening engagements produced the only map of the series on which 1win never looked settled.

Cache — 1win 13–7

The decider became the BELCHONOKK show. His Deagle four-kill round during a 1win eco was the map’s defining individual moment, and he continued to find openings as 1win constructed a 9–3 advantage.

BELCHONOKK ended Cache with 23 kills, nine deaths, 136.6 ADR and a 2.46 Rating 3.0. Liquid managed four rounds after the switch but never reduced the deficit enough to threaten the result. Across the complete series, BELCHONOKK recorded 48 kills, 93.0 ADR and a 1.52 rating.

Liquid therefore finished the qualifier in the 17th–32nd-place group. 1win moved forward to face Acend, keeping alive a route that would require two more victories to reach the main event.

Acend recover from Cache loss to beat FOKUS 2–1

Acend and FOKUS traded convincing map picks before the Bulgarian lineup took control after halftime on Dust2. FOKUS’s recovery on Cache prevented an early exit, but they could not carry that momentum into the deciding map.

Inferno — Acend 13–4

Acend’s Inferno pick produced the most one-sided map of the series. They established an 8–4 lead in the opening half and then won five consecutive rounds after the switch.

FOKUS never developed enough economy or round-to-round continuity to test Acend’s defense. The margin also gave Acend room to absorb the expected response on FOKUS’s map choice without losing control of the series.

Cache — FOKUS 13–7

FOKUS answered by building an 8–4 halftime advantage of their own. Unlike their opponent on Inferno, Acend found a few rounds after the break, but FOKUS protected the lead and closed the map 13–7.

jocab was FOKUS’s most consistent player over the three maps, ending the series with 45 kills, 75.7 ADR and a 1.16 Rating 3.0. His output helped FOKUS reach Dust2, although the team could not reproduce the same control there.

Dust2 — Acend 13–7

The decider was level at 6–6 after the opening half. Acend then produced the decisive adjustment, winning seven of the next eight rounds and preventing FOKUS from establishing an economy after the side switch.

h4rn led that closing effort with 15 kills, nine deaths, 90.5 ADR and a 1.58 map rating. SPELLAN was similarly influential, posting a 1.57 rating as Acend converted a balanced first half into a comfortable final score.

REDSTAR was Acend’s highest-rated player across the series at 1.23, while h4rn finished with 45 kills and a 1.14 rating. Their contributions sent Acend into a round-of-16 meeting with 1win and left FOKUS in the 17th–32nd-place bracket.

Senzu powers BC.Game past OG 2–0

BC.Game won OG’s Inferno pick before controlling their own selection of Cache. The sweep continued the new lineup’s rapid start and demonstrated that the team’s firepower extends well beyond s1mple.

Inferno — BC.Game 13–8

OG kept the first half level at 6–6, but the match changed immediately after the switch. BC.Game won seven of the next nine rounds, limiting OG to isolated successes rather than allowing them to build a sustained attack.

Winning Inferno was especially valuable because it was OG’s pick. It removed OG’s clearest route into the series and allowed BC.Game to move onto Cache with control of both the scoreline and the veto.

Cache — BC.Game 13–9

BC.Game led 8–4 at halftime on their own pick. OG split the second half 5–5, but that was insufficient against the early deficit.

Senzu was comfortably the best player on the server. The Mongolian rifler produced 27 kills against 11 deaths, 124.9 ADR and a 2.17 Rating 3.0 on Cache. He finished the series 45–25 with 99.3 ADR and a 1.71 rating.

The distribution of impact was also notable. mzinho, electroNic and Magisk all finished above a 1.05 series rating, while s1mple posted a comparatively quiet 1.00. BC.Game therefore completed the sweep without relying on their AWPer to carry either map.

OG were eliminated in 17th–32nd place. BC.Game advanced to face 100 Thieves with an eight-match winning run that began during the team’s title campaign at Elisa Esports Breakout Series 1.

100 Thieves dispatch INFINITE 2–0

100 Thieves were the most convincing team in this section by round differential, winning the two maps by a combined 26–13. They punished INFINITE on the Romanian-majority team’s Nuke pick and then maintained control on Dust2.

Nuke — 100 Thieves 13–5

INFINITE chose Nuke but never established the start required to justify the pick. 100 Thieves led 9–3 at halftime and conceded only two further rounds before closing.

poiii delivered the standout map, going 16–8 with a 1.77 Rating 3.0. rain added 17 kills and a 1.58 rating, giving 100 Thieves reliable multi-kill output on both sides of the map.

Dust2 — 100 Thieves 13–8

Dust2 was more competitive. 100 Thieves held a narrower 7–5 lead at the break, but they remained the more composed team in the second half and won it 6–3.

Gizmy’s overall series performance underlined the value of his mid-year arrival. The British in-game leader finished the two maps with 30 kills, 88.3 ADR and a 1.34 rating. poiii led the team at 1.36, while rain followed at 1.30.

The victory took 100 Thieves to three consecutive 2–0 match wins at the qualifier. They had also swept SadFamous and NADE in the group stage, meaning they entered the round of 16 without having surrendered a map in Paris.

Head-to-Head Context

None of the four Round-of-32 match pages listed a previous head-to-head meeting. That made historical series records less informative than current form, roster construction and the map veto—particularly in a section containing several recently rebuilt teams.

The changing lineups further reduced the value of older organizational history. 1win had acquired the former TDK roster only eight days before facing Liquid. BC.Game’s Magisk-led five debuted together at the end of July, while Gizmy had taken over 100 Thieves’ in-game leadership from rain during the summer break.

The upcoming 100 Thieves–BC.Game series was also listed without a prior recorded meeting. Its relevant context was therefore the current matchup: device against s1mple, Gizmy against Magisk in the calling battle, and two teams that had reached the round of 16 without losing a series in Paris.

Key Players

BELCHONOKK — 1win, rifler

BELCHONOKK produced the defining performance of the round. His 48–32 record, 93.0 ADR and 1.52 series rating were already exceptional, but the decisive figure was his 2.46 rating on Cache. His Deagle four-kill eco round gave 1win an unlikely conversion and he remained the map’s dominant player from that point onward.

Senzu — BC.Game, rifler

Senzu supplied 45 kills in only 43 rounds against OG. His 1.71 series rating was the best recorded in these four matches, and his 27–11 performance on Cache removed any realistic prospect of an OG comeback.

h4rn — Acend, AWPer

h4rn’s series numbers were solid rather than spectacular—45 kills and a 1.14 rating—but his best map arrived when Acend needed it. His 1.58 rating on Dust2 helped turn a 6–6 game into a 13–7 qualification-saving victory.

REDSTAR — Acend, rifler

REDSTAR led Acend over the complete three-map series with a 1.23 rating, 44 kills and 81.6 ADR. His consistency across a lopsided win, a map loss and the Dust2 decider gave Acend a stable baseline while the supporting cast fluctuated.

poiii — 100 Thieves, rifler

poiii finished 31–23 with a team-leading 1.36 rating. His 1.77-rated Nuke performance was particularly important because it came on INFINITE’s pick and allowed 100 Thieves to take immediate control of the series.

Gizmy — 100 Thieves, in-game leader

Gizmy combined calling duties with 88.3 ADR and a 1.34 rating. That level of individual output gave 100 Thieves a major advantage against INFINITE and reduced the pressure on device to produce a star-level series with the AWP.

Interesting Facts

• Cache appeared in three of the four series. FOKUS won it to force Dust2, while 1win and BC.Game used victories on the map to complete their respective series.
• 100 Thieves posted the best round differential in the section. Their 26–13 combined score against INFINITE produced a plus-13 margin, compared with plus-nine for both BC.Game and Acend and plus-seven for 1win.
• 1win’s win came eight days after the organization acquired the TDK roster. The lineup transfer was announced on August 1; Liquid were eliminated on August 9.
• BC.Game reached the round of 16 on an eight-match winning streak. The run included the Elisa Esports Breakout Series 1 title, two group-stage victories in Paris and the sweep of OG.
• 100 Thieves went 6–0 in maps through the first two phases. They swept SadFamous and NADE in the group stage before beating INFINITE on Nuke and Dust2.
• All four opening playoff series were new matchups in HLTV’s recorded head-to-head data. None of the match pages listed an earlier meeting.

Tournament Implications

Liquid, FOKUS, OG and INFINITE were all eliminated and placed in the 17th–32nd group. There is no lower bracket in the playoff phase, so each team’s first defeat after advancing from groups ended its qualification attempt.

The four surviving teams formed two round-of-16 pairings:

• 1win vs Acend
• 100 Thieves vs BC.Game

The winners of those series advance to Quarter-final No. 4. That best-of-three is effectively the final of this bracket section: its winner receives one of the four available places at the Esports World Cup 2026 main event.

For 1win, the path offers a chance to convert the Liquid upset into a major qualification result. Acend, however, have already shown that losing a map does not disrupt their composure. On the other side, 100 Thieves’ balanced output faces BC.Game’s superior recent winning streak and a Senzu–mzinho pairing that has immediately added another source of firepower around s1mple and electroNic.

What Comes Next?

At the final verification cutoff on August 9, the round of 16 was already in progress. BC.Game had taken the opening map against 100 Thieves, winning Inferno 13–7, while 1win–Acend was beginning on the neighboring side of the section. Those incomplete series have not been presented as final results in this Round-of-32 recap.

The two winners are scheduled to meet later on August 9 in Quarter-final No. 4. Victory there secures qualification for the 32-team Esports World Cup main event, which runs from August 12–23 in Paris and carries a $2 million prize pool.

FAQ

Which teams won the matches covered in this roundup?

1win defeated Liquid, Acend beat FOKUS, BC.Game swept OG and 100 Thieves swept INFINITE.

Which teams advanced?

1win, Acend, BC.Game and 100 Thieves advanced from the Round of 32 into the Round of 16.

Which teams were eliminated?

Liquid, FOKUS, OG and INFINITE were eliminated and placed 17th–32nd at the EWC 2026 Open Qualifier.

Who were the best-performing players?

BELCHONOKK led 1win with a 1.52 series rating against Liquid, while Senzu recorded a 1.71 rating in BC.Game’s sweep of OG. poiii, Gizmy, REDSTAR and h4rn were also central to their teams’ victories.

What were the map scores?

Acend beat FOKUS 13–4, 7–13 and 13–7. 1win beat Liquid 13–5, 6–13 and 13–7. BC.Game defeated OG 13–8 and 13–9, while 100 Thieves beat INFINITE 13–5 and 13–8.

Who plays next?

1win face Acend and 100 Thieves face BC.Game. The two winners then meet in a best-of-three qualification match for an EWC 2026 main-event place.