Team Liquid are the IBP Masters 2019 champions and, perhaps even more impressively, Liquid beat Astralis to pull it off. Although the event was plagued by technical mishaps, it’s a huge victory for Liquid, who regularly came in 2nd to Astralis in 2018. Here’s more on the iBUYPOWER Masters IV champions.

Team Liquid Beat Astralis to Win IBP Masters 2019

Team Liquid had a bumpy 2018. Despite their strong roster and solid performances, they regularly placed 2nd when it came to big event runs. It seemed as though Astralis were their kryptonite, consistently bumping then into the runner-up spot.

However, since a roster change brought Stewie2k to Liquid, 2019 might be their year. In the first international event of the year, Team Liquid finally came out on top to secure the event victory.

Team Liquid beat Luminosity (16-11), Ghost Gaming (16-8), and fnatic (2-1 Bo3) to make it to the Grand Finals. Astralis beat compLexity (16-3), Cloud9 (19-9), and Ghost Gaming (2-0 Bo3) on their run.

But in the Grand Finals, Liquid came out on top in a 2-1 Bo3 victory. Astralis won Inferno (16-4) to start things off, but Liquid came back to secure victories on Dust 2 (16-11) and Overpass (16-11).

New Year, New Liquid

Team Liquid celebrated the win by announcing “New Year, New Liquid” on Twitter. The recent roster change could be a big turning point for the team.

Alongside players like NAF and Twistzz, Stewie2k fit right into the roster, putting up big stats- especially in the finals.

While many pros complained about conditions at the event, beating the #1 team in the world is no easy feat.

The victory shows that Liquid are one of the CS:GO teams to watch out for in 2019. However, with many other CS:GO roster changes happening recently, 2019 could be a truly unpredictable year for Counter-Strike.

We now have the IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major to look forward to in February. The event will show how good the CS:GO teams of 2019 really are.

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