A 1v5 for the history books, Refrezh saves Heroic from elimination at ESL Pro League Season 14. Team Liquid, inches away from victory, is now out of the tournament.
Team Liquid and Heroic faced off against each other in an elimination match during ESL Pro League Season quarterfinals. It was a do-or-die situation for either team and the winner would go ahead to face Na’Vi in the next round. But CS: GO fans were in for a treat as it was a series of dominance, an amazing comeback and then a near impossible 1v5 clutch to completely turn the game on its head.
If you did not watch the game live, you missed what is probably the best play of the tournament, if not the year. The series between Heroic and Team Liquid left fans gasping for air and many, the edge of their seats.
Team Liquid manage a comeback on Inferno, almost
After winning their respective map picks, Heroic and Team Liquid faced off on Inferno as the decider map. Heroic had a dominant CT side, one that saw the Danish team command a 12-3 lead at half-time. Victory was within reach for the Heroic players, some of whom are now facing an ESIC investigation for their role in the coaching bug scandal.
On their CT side, Team Liquid gave Heroic a taste of their own medicine. With a dominant CT side, Keith "NAF" Markovic led Team Liquid, keeping the NA team’s hopes alive. Team Liquid took the lead in the penultimate regulation round at 15-14. The NA team was one round away from victory and a semi-finals slot. Heroic was unable to string together 2 T-side rounds in a row, a fact that Refrezh feels they could have improved in a post-match interview.
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The last man standing: Refrezh lays waste to Team Liquid with a 1v5 clutch for the history books
It was the last regulation round on Inferno, Team Liquid on match-point and Heroic staring at defeat. With a 15-14 score, and five players alive, Team Liquid fans were already celebrating victory. The casters declared Inferno as a Team Liquid victory and not many would argue with this prediction. After all, what could Ismail "refrezh" Ali do in a 1v5 situation with the bomb dropped in between five CT players?
Turns out, a lot. The 23-year-old Danish player had other plans. He was not ready to give up without a fight, and fight he did.
With the C4 dropped on the B bombsite, and 5 CT players nearby, Refrezh had his task cut out. Some smart play and positioning saw him take isolated fights, eliminating Team LIquid’s players one by one.
He took Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo first removing the threat of the CT AWP. Jacky "Stewie2K" Yip decided to push through the smoke, handing Refrezh an easy follow-up kill. The Dane had information about two players on the bombsite and their positions, possibly due to communication from his teammates. He was aware of their positions and took isolated fights, winning each duel as he moved to a commanding position.
Bringing it down to a 1v1 situation with huge momentum on his side, refrezh secured overtime for Heroic. An 1v5 in the final round of the final map to save his team’s chances at the ESL Pro League S14, there was little fans can expect more from Refrezh.
Heroic went on to win in overtime and now face Na’Vi in the semifinals. The CSGO community could not stop their excitement on seeing this incredible play from the youngster. NaVi awaits them in the semifinals and if Heroic continue to impress, NaVi might have a tough match ahead of them.
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