Betclic emerged victorious at Stake Pulse Beat I after mounting a remarkable comeback against Liquid in the Swedish LAN grand final, taking the series 2-1 with scores of 11-13 on Cache, 13-10 on Anubis, and 13-7 on Nuke.
The Polish roster's triumph propelled them up 34 positions in the VRS rankings, breaking into the top 50. This momentum-building win arrives at a perfect time as they prepare for their Esports World Cup Open Qualifier run beginning Friday.
For Liquid, the defeat represents a setback despite promising early performances with new additions Georgi "Jorko" Mitev and Johnny "JT" Theodosiou. The squad had impressed with online victories against Vitality and G2 to secure their spot in BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals, and battled through a grueling schedule that saw them travel to Stockholm immediately after falling to Spirit on LAN.
Their tournament run included a tight victory over Betclic in the Group B winners match, followed by dominant sweeps of 9INE and fnatic, helping them climb into the VRS top 20.
The grand final saw Liquid race to a commanding 9-2 advantage on Cache, but momentum shifted after they failed to convert a 5v2 situation. They barely held on for a 13-11 win, with Keith "NAF" Markovic admitting afterward they "just threw" and "should've won 13-6."
Anubis followed a similar pattern, with Liquid leading 6-2 and later 10-8, but crucial clutches from Wojciech "Prism" Zięba and a decisive 1v2 from Konrad "Qlocuu" Kłocek helped Betclic force overtime and eventually claim a 13-10 victory.
Betclic dominated the decisive Nuke map from the start, with Prism and Sebastian "fr3nd" Kuśmierz dismantling Liquid's setups to build an 8-2 lead. Prism's triple kill in a 2v4 pistol round after the side swap sealed Liquid's fate as Betclic closed out the map and championship.
