Team Liquid takes the lead towards the Intel Grand Slam
Over the weekend, Team Liquid was victorious at DreamHack Masters Dallas, making them one step closer to the million dollar Intel Grand Slam prize.
Team Liquid managed to beat ENCE in the DreamHack Grand Final in Dallas to not only win them the DreamHack title but also putting them ahead of Astralis in the race for the Intel Grand Slam. This season of the Intel Grand Slam is only three tournaments in so far. Astralis were the first team to complete the race last season, winning their four out of ten eligible titles. This season, they looked set to do it again as they won the first tournament in Katowice. They then decided to skip some of the following tournaments leaving it open for the other top teams to catch up.
No Astralis?
First, it was IEM Sydney last month that saw some first-time visits to Australia for some teams and a home crowd for others. Team Liquid stepped up to the plate and beat Fnatic to the title in one of the most nail-biting best of five finals we have seen in a while.
Then came this very tournament, DreamHack Masters Dallas. Astralis had once again decided to miss this tournament to focus on Blast Pro Series. Many of the recognisable top teams were invited with some fresh teams coming through in the qualifiers. ENCE has been working its way into top status recently, beating Astralis at Blast Pro Series: Madrid.
DreamHack Dallas
Getting to the Grand Final they won Group B, earning a guaranteed spot in the Semifinals where they beat FaZe Clan 2-0. Team Liquid won Group A that also jumped them to the Semifinals where they faced Brazillian team, FURIA Esports. Liquid also managed to beat their opponent 2-0 to move onto the Grand Finals.
Team Liquid vs ENCE went to all three of the BO3 and looked like it could go either way. Team Liquid took the first map on Mirage fairly easily, winning it 16-8. ENCE fired back, taking the next map on Overpass to Overtime, eventually taking it 19-17. The final map on Inferno remained close for most of the match until Team Liquid closed it out 16-13.
This now puts them at two tournament wins towards the Intel Grand Slam over Astralis' one. Do you think they have what it takes to win the million dollar prize?
