Liquid Triumph Over Wildcard in a Grueling Match at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Opening Stage

Wildcard, another dark horse of this Major, advanced through the group stage with a flawless 3-0 record. Fate brought Team Liquid and Wildcard together once again in the tournament, following their first clash during the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: American RMR qualifiers.

The battleground for their encounter in the second round of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Opening Stage was the map Inferno. Incidentally, this was the same map where Wildcard had defeated Team Liquid during the qualifiers. As expected, the match was intensely captivating, with both teams striving to assert their playstyles. Early in the game, Wildcard successfully set the pace, and even in rounds they lost, they managed to disrupt their opponent's economy. However, this momentum didn’t last long. Team Liquid identified the weak points in Wildcard’s play and shifted to a more aggressive approach. As a result, the first half ended in Team Liquid's favor, 7-5.

The second half turned into a real rollercoaster, with both teams trading streaks of rounds. At one point, Wildcard attempted several site retakes while outnumbered, which broke their economy and forced them into partial buys in the subsequent rounds. A few more mistakes by Wildcard in the final rounds were eagerly exploited by Team Liquid, leading to a 13-10 victory for Liquid.

Despite the loss, Wildcard’s player susp stood out, finishing the match with the highest kill count of 22 and an impressive 98.4 average damage per round. Unfortunately, the efforts of a single player were not enough, and Wildcard concluded the second round with a 1-1 record, while Team Liquid advanced to a 2-0 scoreline.