Team Liquid BR secures final spot by stomping Team SMG and G2 Gozen out of GC Championship

Day 5 of the VCT Game Changers 2023 Championship: São Paulo was the last of eliminations; two teams will head home, and one will secure their spot for the Grand Finals in a best-of-three eliminations game. Here is how the day went:

Team Liquid BR eliminates their first target, Team SMG Female

The first match of the eliminations was between Team Liquid Brazil and Team SMG Female, and the first map was Haven, where Team Liquid decided to attack first. Team SMG looked confident on their map pick and played their usual aggressive playstyle. Team Liquid BR was overwhelmed by the enemies' aggressive playstyle and finished the first half with a score of 5-7. Team SMG continued their pressing style towards their attacking half and secured the map with a final score of 13-9.

The second map of the series was Bind, which Team Liquid BR picked. With the new map starting, we saw a completely different performance by Team Liquid BR; they found the counter for the aggressive pushes from Team SMG Female. Team Liquid stepped up immensely compared to their first map, and we had many clutches from their side. But SMG wasn’t making the map easier, either. We saw multiple clutches from their side, but unfortunately, they couldn't secure their map and series point, and Team Liquid BR secured the map with a score of 13-7, making the series 1-1.

The last and final map of the first series was Ascent, and this was one of the most entertaining matches we saw throughout the whole series; both teams looked eager to win, with each round having its moments and clutches. Team Liquid BR started as attackers in the decider map, and they nailed the first half with a score of 8-4. With the second half beginning, Team SMG tried to take control of the game and tried to take every round close towards victory, but every time, someone from Team Liquid BR managed to pop off to stop them. There were endless clutches from Daiki Issa to carry their win over Team SMG Female with a scoreline of 13-10 and securing the series. With this series ending, Team SMG Female finished overall fourth position in the VCT Game Changers 2023 Championship: São Paulo and Team Liquid BR managed to move to the Lower Brackets finals against G2 Gozen.

Team Liquid eliminates second target, reigning champions G2 Gozen

The first map of the series was Ascent, and after eliminating Team SMG Females on the same map in the previous series, Team Liquid BR looked fairly confident against G2 Gozen. Team Liquid managed to win the pistol round against G2 Gozen. But G2 Gozen bounced back by winning the bonus and two consecutive rounds against them. Players from both teams stepped up individually when the team required the most, and Team Liquid BR managed to end the first half with a score line of 6-6. With G2 Gozen in the attack, Team Liquid quickly stopped their momentum with amazing retakes right from the pistol round. The whole looked like Team Liquid BR was on another level compared to G2 Gozen, and this statement against G2 Gozen is not what we think ever often. Finally, the first map ended with a score of 13-9, with Team Liquid ahead in the series.

The second battleground took us to Lotus, and Team Liquid BR decided to attack first. Liquid carried their momentum from the first map instantly. They managed to win the pistols and won the full buy round against Gozen again, ending the first half with a score of 8-4. Furthermore, it wasn’t that G2 Gozen was playing poorly, but they were getting countered perfectly from the side of Team Liquid BR. With the attacking half starting from G2 Gozen in the second half, they managed to secure the pistols and were winning rounds, but before the 17th round, we saw a timeout coming from Team Liquid BR side. They started the 17th round with an eco, but Joojina picked off Petra and Mimi from G2 early on the A site. G2 then decided to pivot towards the B site to secure the spike down successfully. Sarah used her Viper’s pit where Joojina was left with a 1v2 situation where she managed to clutch and win, which felt like a nail in the coffin against G2 Gozen. Team Liquid then went on to win the whole series with a final score of 13-7.

By eliminating the defending champions, Team Liquid BR secured their spot for the Grand Finals against Shopify Rebellion, a best-of-five series.