Vitality edge Liquid 2–0 to knock them out of the Esports World Cup 2025

Team Vitality have sent Team Liquid home in Riyadh after a razor-thin 2–0, booking a quarter-final berth at the Esports World Cup 2025 and handing Liquid a 9-16th finish. The series looked nothing like a blowout: Mirage ended 13–11 and Dust2 required double overtime at 19–16 before Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s side finally closed the door. 

The context: a rematch five days in the making

This pairing arrived with fresh subtext. Just five days earlier, the same lineups met at the BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals, where Vitality also prevailed 2–0 after two overtime maps—only the veto looked different then (Liquid had gone to Train; Vitality to Nuke). The repeat result in Riyadh, with Mirage and Dust2 headlining, gave Vitality back-to-back wins over Liquid in under a week. 

The veto and setup

• Liquid removed Overpass; Vitality removed Ancient.

• Liquid picked Mirage; Vitality picked Dust2.

• Liquid removed Inferno; Vitality removed Train.

• Nuke remained as the decider.
  That map order framed a duel in which both teams leaned into comfort—and it almost worked for Liquid. 

Mirage (Liquid’s pick) — a sprint, a stall, and a scrape at the end

Liquid’s decision to open on Mirage immediately met a brick wall. Vitality’s CT pair of Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Robin “ropz” Kool controlled mid and A, powering the French-European defense to a 9–3 halftime lead. Despite a rough half from Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, Vitality’s stars generated the damage needed to keep Liquid at arm’s length. Liquid rallied on their CT side—Guy “NertZ” Iluz and Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek stabilized rotations to flip the score to 10–9—but a ZywOo multi-frag out of mid halted the surge and apEX’s men eked out the final two rounds, then clawed back a 3v4 late to seal it 13–11. 

Dust2 — Liquid force double OT, ropz slams the door

Vitality carried tempo into their T half on Dust2 through entries from flameZ and ropz, but Liquid found answers by contesting Catwalk and trading efficiently around NertZ’s anchoring. William “mezii” Merriman’s late-round triple on the B site pushed Vitality to match point, only for Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken to single-handedly resuscitate Liquid with a quad-kill and a 1v2. He and Keith “NAF” Markovic then overturned a 3v5 against a half-buy to force OT, and Liquid even led early in the extra frames. Vitality responded through a ZywOo triple and continued B-site pressure before Twistzz dragged the map to second overtime with yet another 4k. There, Vitality’s veterans steadied: apEX and mezii converted a 2v3, flameZ and ZywOo earned key multikills, and ropz closed the series by locking down B with a decisive 4k—19–16 Vitality.

Numbers that tell the story

HLTV’s series page crowned ZywOo the highest-rated player on the server at 1.39 (51–34 K-D), with ropz close behind at 1.27 (49–35). Twistzz was Liquid’s standout at 1.31 (53–38), driving the late comeback attempts almost by himself. Despite the narrow margins, the star-power differential at key moments—especially mid control on Mirage and B holds on Dust2—tilted the series Vitality’s way. 

What it means

• Vitality advance to the quarter-finals of EWC’s $1.25M CS2 event at Boulevard Riyadh City. The win maintains their positive momentum in the post-summer stretch that has already included high-pressure LAN series and a trophy earlier in the year.

• Liquid exit in 9–16th place and collect a consolation payout, a result confirmed shortly after the match by regional outlets. It’s a stinging defeat given how close both maps were and comes on the heels of another narrow 0–2 against the same opponent at BLAST Bounty.

Broader tournament picture

The Esports World Cup’s CS2 bracket opened with a single-elimination Round of 16 before quarter-finals, with sixteen invited teams converging in Riyadh for four days of play. Vitality’s victory keeps them in the chase for crucial club-championship points and a slice of the $1.25M purse; Liquid’s early exit curtails their chance to add to their EWC tally in CS2. 

Takeaways

• Vitality’s mid-round resilience—punctuated by clutch recoveries on Mirage and a late-series B-site lockdown on Dust2—offset weaker halves (e.g., limited T-rounds on Mirage) and highlighted the value of their star trio in tight games.

• Liquid’s ceiling is evident, but so is the fragility under pressure. Twistzz and NertZ produced enough firepower to force extra frames, yet the team couldn’t land the final punches in multi-OT scenarios, continuing a theme from the BLAST Bounty meeting.

With the Ro16 hurdle cleared, Vitality move forward into the final eight in Riyadh; Liquid head home with lessons from two knife-edge maps that could easily have swung the other way. For an event where margins are thin and momentum is everything, this was the quintessential first-day test—and Vitality passed by the narrowest of margins.