Given no chance of leaving a mark at IEM Dallas, G2 Esports has shocked the Counter-Strike world by making the playoffs with a 2-1 reverse sweep over hometown heroes Liquid. The surprise victory leaves just one North American star gracing the Dallas stage as this weekend rolls on—G2 stand-in Stewie2K.
Stewie was overwhelmed in the post-game interview, stating the adrenaline was pumping after pulling off the reverse, which included a 9-0 run on Inferno and a max-regulation decider on Nuke. “I’m zoned out, I’ve got no words,” he said, adding he and the team were confident they could complete the lower bracket run after overcoming MOUZ in yesterday’s semifinal.
On a personal level, Stewie’s warmed back into competitive CS2 which hasn’t changed all that much from his last LAN outing almost two years ago. “I feel like I’ve still kind of have a lot in my head remembered and stored, but it’s about getting reps and making better decisions and not hesitating,” he said. The 26-year-old currently holds a 0.83 HLTV rating in Dallas, but has shown glimpses of the Smoke Criminal we all know and love and his round-by-round impact is better than what the stat sheet tells.
“I was hesitating a lot in the first day, but after playing MOUZ and beating them I knew the stage was definitely a possibility. I came out with a different type of tenacity today—to be the only NA player on stage.” He proved just that with the 2-1 win, led from the front by interim captain NiKo, who Stewie said was the key to it all coming together. “It’s the NiKo show. As long as we make him comfortable we’re going to succeed, even with him in the IGL role.”
Meanwhile, it’s a dismal end for Liquid, who end their season on a low after back-to-back playoff efforts in Chengdu and Malta. Pressure had been piled on the squad who looked far from their best—from their disaster 2-1 loss to 9z to a narrow win over a struggling Falcons, many still expected the boys in blue to clear G2 and make the stage.
“The feeling right now is we should have closed it out—we had a good situation but we didn’t capitalize,” Liquid in-game leader cadiaN said candidly, adding Liquid still deserved their spot in the top 10 rankings. “Considering we had zero [ranking] points five months ago and how things looked then, I think it’s been a significant improvement.”
Liquid’s fans, however, are already calling for changes following the CS2 team’s general underperformance given the potential some of the individuals on the roster have shown in the past; YEKINDAR’s stint as IGL has all but neutered his fragging output, while Brazilian fifth skullz and even cadiaN himself have struggled for consistency. According to cadiaN, the fans may get their wish. “I know some things and some things I don’t know. I’ll be wise about it all in the upcoming days,” he said on the team’s future.
CadiaN went on to suggest “things just aren’t meshing as they should be,” pointing to both the team’s conduct on the server and their relationship outside it. “Ultimately, I want to be at a place where I’m happy, where I want to show up and want to be energized and be the fucking cadiaN everyone knows. Whether that’s here or somewhere else, only time will tell.”
He also alluded to a lack of trust in his calling and in-game CS2 captaincy, and that it may play a factor in the weeks to come. “I want to be somewhere where I feel there’s full trust in my leadership and my playstyle,” he said. “That could be here, but it could be somewhere else.”
For Liquid, it’s back to the drawing board as their CS2 season concludes. As for stand-in Stewie and G2, they’ll load up this weekend against FaZe Clan in the IEM Dallas quarterfinals as they look to keep their incredible Texas run alive.
