Heroic vs Team Liquid: Heroic move on to the Grand Finals

The BLAST Premier Fall Finals is in its final few matches and Team Liquid and Heroics face each other in the semifinals today. The BLAST Premier Fall Finals kicked off with eight teams but only four remain starting November 26. Here’s how the first semifinal match played out.

Team Liquid saw Yekindar shine but it was a standout performance as the rest of the squad was simply unable to catch up. Nitro, oSee and others simply did not have the same impact in the game as fans are used to seeing. 

Meanwhile, Heroics had excellent gameplay and they were always able to put forth a strong performance even in rounds that they lost. The Danish lineup might have lost a few pistol rounds but even on those rounds, Heroic’s performance was exceedingly strong.

The map started with the first three rounds going in Heroic’s favor. Team Liquid brought it back to bring some semblance into the first half. The two sides consistently traded rounds through the first half of the Heroic vs Team Liquid semifinal.

Team Liquid seemed to rely too heavily on YEKINDAR in the first map and that was their undoing. However, CS: GO fans know Team Liquid has the firepower and skill necessary to put up a very strong performance. Team Liquid has some big names, but it was mostly YEKINDAR showing up in Game 1. Team Liquid ultimately lost Overpass with a 10-16 score, giving Heroic a one-map lead in the series.

With Team Liquid looking rather lackluster, it was going to be an uphill battle for Team Liquid in Game 2 (Inferno). Team Liquid is one of the stronger CS: GO teams on Inferno but in this Heroic vs Team Liquid match, Heroic has looked the stronger team so far.

While Heroic won Overpass, there were multiple clutch moments that went Heroic's way. Team Liquid might have lost Overpass 10-16, but a few rounds with different results could've easily sent the map in a different direction.

Despite higher expectations from Team Liquid on Inferno, Heroic had a dominant start on Map 2. They marched ahead to a 7-3 lead, mostly on the back of an all-round performance by the Danes. YEKINDAR was once again the star on Team Liquid - at 11 frags compared to nitr0's 1 during the 11th round.

But Team Liquid bounced back soon after, winning the next three rounds, mostly on the back of some economy play. With Heroic having to play without full weapons during this brief period, Team Liquid closed the gap to end the half at 8-7.

The second half started with Heroic taking the lead once more. The Danish team was already receiving significant support from their Swedish 'home' crowd. However, Team Liquid, with their crisp and clean comms had a clear directive and they were very focused on winning Inferno.

Team Liquid actually took the lead and took Heroic to overtime on Inferno. Over in Inferno, it was still anyone's game but Team Liquid clearly had the lead going into overtime.

A crucial part of Team Liquid's victory was the fact that other players stepped up on the map. NAF even managed to overtake YEKINDAR as we stepped on to overtime.

The back-and-forth nature of the two teams in Overtime was clearly evident in the way the game progressed. Ultimately, Team Liquid's YEKINDAR sealed the deal on Inferno taking the series to Mirage.

Jabbi puts Heroic on the table

Earlier this year, Heroic removed refrezh from their CS: GO roster, a move that shocked many in the community. But Jabbi has been exceptional and has been an integral part of the Heroic roster. Coming in to Copenhagen Flames, Jabbi has catapulted squad to a top-tier team, again.

However, in this series, stavn was clearly the player that had a significantly higher impact. The player ended the series with a 1.37 rating, dominating Team Liquid in the semifinals.

Heroic had a dominant CT side on Mirage amassing 11 rounds. The massive lead led them to secure an easy win over their opponents.

Heroic now move to the Grand Finals where they will face the winner of NiP/FaZe Clan.

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