Liquid survive ECSTATIC scare after quintuple-overtime on Train

Liquid survive ECSTATIC scare after quintuple-overtime on Train ✨

Team Liquid pulled off a nerve-racking 2–0 series win over Denmark’s ECSTATIC at BLAST Bounty Season 2, kicking things off with a colossal 54-round marathon on Train that culminated in a 28–26 victory in quintuple overtime.

Map 1 – Train: a battle of attrition

ECSTATIC’s map pick quickly turned into a gauntlet. After full regulation, the teams entered overtime, pushing the map into five extra sessions. The match featured 14 clutch rounds, with Liquid sealing their win thanks to a decisive 2‑on‑4 retake by ultimate and Twistzz. Throughout the chaos, Liquid won nine clutch situations in total — a key factor in their escape.

Liquid began slowly, falling behind in opening duels (21–32 overall), while NertZ continued to struggle, posting a 0.96 rating over the last three months and at one point going 4–15 in entry fights. In contrast, ultimate delivered 48 frags and kept Liquid afloat with consistent performances. ECSTATIC also contributed to the madness with late-round overpeeks — a tactic that even flusha highlighted.

Map 2 – Ancient: more straightforward, closer to routine

Liquid bounced back with a cleaner T‑side performance on Ancient. After a shaky Train opener, NertZ found his rhythm, helping to stabilize the team. ECSTATIC managed a half-time comeback attempt, but Liquid shut it down decisively to close the series 13–9.

Context & significance

This series was more than just a match—it was a much-needed lift for Liquid. They entered the event on the back foot: exiting IEM Cologne in the 13–16th places and failing to qualify for ESL Pro League or BLAST Open. After another upset loss to VP.ProdiGY in qualifiers, Twistzz took to X to lament, “we are not a team… no words for how we play”.

This victory against ECSTATIC thus serves as a morale boost, but it masks underlying issues — inconsistent entry duels, fragile form from key players, and over-reliance on clutches. The overall series win (2–0) looks clean on paper, but Liquid still have plenty of work to regain stability on the international stage.

Liquid’s opener was far from convincing, but they managed to grind it out in the end. If they want to shake off their early-season turmoil, they'll need to turn performances like this into something more consistent and less chaotic.