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The Team Liquid CS:GO team narrowly avoided disaster in the last few teams, after their BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challengers Stage got off to a disastrous start.

Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | \u00a9 BLAST

On the Paris Major day 1, Liquid faced what should have been an easy draw against Apeks. It proved to be anything but, as they fell to an opening defeat. FORZE awaited the Team Liquid CS:GO roster, but again, defeat.

Now 0:2 and staring down the barrel of elimination, they looked completely out of sorts. EliGE claimed it “wasn’t us” post-match. Things looked dire.

The CS:GO Major records show that Liquid often start slow. With Fluxo approaching, they needed to speed up fast. Fluxo were supposed to be an 0:3 Pick’Em guarantee, but Liquid flirted with danger as they dropped a map to the Brazilians. Still, they overcame the tough situation to get back on track.

Their second game against Complexity would be much more comfortable. The other NA team in the competition just had nothing to offer against the Team Liquid CS:GO team, and were swiftly dispatched. They’d come back to 2:2, but the job wasn’t done.

Grayhound were the final test. The Aussies had been stubborn competition throughout the tournament, and were just one step away from the promised land. To Liquid’s credit, they handled the pressure completely different than usual. They put on a clinic, dismantling Grayhound at every turn. 2:0 the score, Liquid had reached the Legends Stage.

Anything less than Legends Stage would’ve been a disaster for the Team Liquid CS:GO division. Now that they’ve got momentum on their side, it’ll be interesting to see if they can carry it with them to make a deep run. They must remember how close they came to humiliation, and use that as a driving force going forward.