Esport MeAurora crash out of IEM Beijing after heavy loss to Liquid
Aurora's poor form continued in Beijing as they exited the tournament, having been swept 2-0 by Liquid in their opening series.
Aurora have been eliminated from IEM Beijing, according to HLTV, extending a difficult run of form for Nemanja "huNter-" Kovac's roster, who have now won just one series across their last three tournaments.
The exit followed a lopsided opening defeat to Liquid, reported by Dust2.us, in which the North American side dropped only seven rounds across two maps in a 2-0 sweep.
Liquid had arrived in Beijing off the back of an unremarkable 2-3 finish in the Swiss stage at PGL Masters Bucharest, but showed little of that inconsistency against Aurora.
The series opened on Liquid's pick of Inferno, where a pistol-round win was converted into a 6-0 start. Aurora clawed back two rounds before Liquid reeled off three more in succession, taking the half 9-3.
Liquid won the second pistol round as well and closed out the map in commanding fashion, finishing 13-3.
Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa was the standout performer on Inferno, ending the map with an 18/8 kill-death record, a round swing of +17.75%, and a rating of 2.56, according to Dust2.us.
Aurora's own pick, Anubis, began more promisingly for huNter-'s side as they took the first pistol round, but Liquid quickly wrestled back control.
Liquid dropped just two further rounds across the rest of their T-side, again reaching a 9-3 half, before winning the second pistol and conceding only one more round on the way to a 13-4 finish.
Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski led the way on Anubis with a 19/8 kill-death record, a +7.85% round swing, and a 2.11 rating.
Across the full series, malbsMd and EliGE each finished with identical 1.81 ratings, with both riflers topping a 2.00 rating on their respective best maps and combining for a 64/29 kill-death ratio, Dust2.us reported.
The result adds to a pattern of struggles for Aurora, who have now managed only a single series win in their last three events, per HLTV's reporting.
Liquid's next assignment in Beijing comes against PARIVISION, with the winner of that series securing a place in the playoffs, according to Dust2.us.