Liquid eliminated from IEM Beijing after Mirage decider slips away against BETBOOM

Liquid's run at IEM Beijing ended in the lower-bracket final, where a 2-1 loss to BETBOOM closed out their event in seventh-to-eighth place.

The elimination came a day after Liquid had dropped into the lower bracket following a loss to PARIVISION. They responded by beating TYLOO 2-0 before running into an in-form BETBOOM side in the decisive match, Dust2.us reported.

The series opened on Liquid's own pick, Anubis, and started well for them as they raced to a 3-1 lead. BETBOOM clawed back with a 6-2 run to edge 7-5 at the half, then dominated the second half to close out the map 13-5.

Kirill 'Magnojez' Rodnov was the standout performer on that map. HLTV described his 2.40 rating as his highest ever at a Big Event, built on 21 kills in 18 rounds, seven multi-kill rounds, a 1v3 clutch and a 7-2 duel record on the AWP.

BETBOOM carried that momentum into Nuke, winning nine of the first ten rounds to open a 9-3 lead at half-time. Liquid clawed their way back after winning the T-side pistol round, with Georgi 'Jorko' Mitev and Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski combining for all five kills in the 24th round to seal a 13-11 win and force a decider.

Liquid went 8-16 in opening duels across the map despite the comeback, underlining how much of the turnaround came from execution under pressure rather than raw individual firepower.

Mirage decided the series, and the lead changed hands repeatedly. Liquid got ahead early behind a red-hot Jorko before BETBOOM flipped an early 2-5 deficit into a 7-5 lead by the side switch.

The second half produced some of the series' biggest swings. A Jorko AWP quad kill on the A site brought the score level at 10-10, before BETBOOM pushed ahead again to 11-11 heading into the final stretch.

Zagodyrenko then broke the deadlock with an ace in the 23rd round, putting BETBOOM on match point. In the final round, four Liquid players attempted to force their way onto the B site without a defuse kit and were cut down by Magnojez to end the match 13-11.

The defeat closes out Liquid's IEM Beijing campaign at seventh-to-eighth place. Their next assignment is the PGL Major Singapore, which begins on 24 November, roughly three weeks after the Beijing elimination.

Elsewhere in the same playoff seeding round, MOUZ eliminated PARIVISION 2-0, taking Ancient 13-2 behind a career-high 2.59 rating from Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi before closing out Mirage 13-9 to advance to the semi-finals.