The round of 32 at the Esports World Cup open qualifier has delivered drama and upsets, with one major team already out of contention and several blockbuster matchups taking shape.
In the standout clash of the round, 1win stunned Liquid with a commanding performance. The series opener saw Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov and Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov orchestrate a clinical terrorist-side display, building a dominant 10-2 advantage that Liquid couldn't overcome despite a force-buy round victory.
Liquid fought back on Anubis with an equally impressive showing. Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa punished 1win's hesitant attacks on the counter-terrorist side, before Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and Georgi "Jorko" Mitev sealed the map in the second half to level the series.
The decider belonged entirely to Andrey "BELCHONOKK" Yasinskiy, who delivered a phenomenal display. His performance kicked off with a stunning Deagle 4K during a full eco round, and he never slowed down from there. His exceptional 2.46 rating dismantled Liquid and secured 1win's advancement.
Meanwhile, the bracket of death has produced an enticing next-round matchup. Both 100 Thieves and BC.Game cruised through their opening matches against INFINITE and OG respectively, setting up a clash packed with storylines. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev facing Nicolai "device" Reedtz, and Emil "Magisk" Reif going up against his former Astralis colleagues creates compelling narratives.
Other notable results saw Phantom upset NRG, JiJieHao eliminate DENDELE, and GenOne overcome Echo. BIG, HEROIC, and fnatic all secured clean 2-0 victories, while Acend, EYEBALLERS, and Inner Circle edged out tight contests against FOKUS, SINNERS, and Iberian Soul.
