With a 2-0 victory over CLG (de_cache 16-13, de_mirage 16-6), Liquid advance to the MLG Columbus 2016 semi-finals.

The start to the domestic battle that was CLG versus Liquid was a one-sided one on Cache, as the former got off to a quit 5-0 start following the initial pistol round, a gunround and a couple of anti-ecos.

The first real chance offered itself afterwards when Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev got a double in mid, but Josh "⁠jdm64⁠" Marzano denied that with a triple in a 2-on-4 for 6-0. The Ukrainian then doubled up on his previous feat and got a quad with an AWP, the only weapon the entire team bought in the round, for their first round on the board.

CLG piled on despite good reads by Liquid, as they got to 10-1 before s1mple won his team two more rounds with a triple-kill and a double in a 2-on-2. It didn't seem to be quite enough however, as CLG closed the half with a commanding 12-3 lead.

More brilliant play by s1mple, who bought a Desert Eagle in the pistol round and got two one-shots with it, pushed his team to 12-6 and slowly but surely 12-9 after a couple of gunrounds and ecos. A double from the same player at 12-10 helped even it out, at which point CLG looked destroyed.

s1mple scored a great many impactful kills

After Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin and Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski won a 3-on-5 and got their first lead on the map, Tarik "⁠tarik⁠" Celik and jdm64 stepped up to the plate with doubles in a double-AWP setup. However, that didn't rattle Liquid at all, as they powered to 13-1 as Terrorists, and a 16-13 victory on map one.

Mirage was an entirely different story at the start as despite heroics from James "⁠hazed⁠" Cobb in the pistol round, CLG couldn't take more than the pistol in the first five rounds as EliGE's triple in a forcebuy put them on the back foot.

Another round for Faruk "⁠pita⁠" Pita's team was traded for four more on the side of Liquid, who reset their opponents economy at 5-2 and powered to an 8-2 lead after a 2-on-2 clutch win. jdm64's entry on Eric "⁠adreN⁠" Hoag then helped his team move around the map more freely, giving them one more round, but once more it was only one as s1mple shut them down with a triple, including a knife kill.

Towards the end of the half CLG were able to abuse gaps in Liquid's B defence and got two much-needed rounds for 6-9 as Terrorists. Everything went downhill from there however, Liquid won the second pistol and both anti-ecos for 12-6 and piled on some more.

A teamkill from jdm64, as well as a smart fake allowed Liquid take their 14th round, which was soon turned into a 16-6 win on map two, securing them a place in the semi-finals.

MLG Columbus 2016Best of 3 LiquidMatchpage 2 0 1st April 2016 CLG 16Cache 13 16Mirage 6

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostylievs1mple	51 - 35	+16	98.8	1.50
Eric 'adreN' HoagadreN	36 - 23	+13	77.7	1.31
Nick 'nitr0' Cannellanitr0	34 - 32	+2	86.4	1.16
Spencer 'Hiko' MartinHiko	34 - 28	+6	74.8	1.14
Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE	30 - 35	-5	69.8	1.00

CLG	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Tarik 'tarik' Celiktarik	44 - 37	+7	93.5	1.25
Josh 'jdm64' Marzanojdm64	32 - 36	-4	72.3	0.91
Stephen 'reltuC' CutlerreltuC	25 - 36	-11	62.4	0.81
James 'hazed' Cobbhazed	26 - 39	-13	66.1	0.79
Jacob 'FugLy' MedinaFugLy	25 - 40	-15	58.0	0.69

One more quarter-final is left to be played, but it is scheduled for tomorrow. Virtus.pro and Luminosity are set to play at 16:00 before semi-finals roll around.

Virtus.pro #6 Wiktor 'TaZ' WojtasFilip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiJanusz 'Snax' PogorzelskiPaweł 'byali' Bieliński Faruk 'pita' Pita Age: 25 Team: CLGC Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski Age: 18 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 284 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.71 Spencer 'Hiko' Martin Age: 26 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 404 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.60 Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Luminosity #4 Lincoln 'fnx' LauGabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de Melo Liquid #18 Spencer 'Hiko' MartinEric 'adreN' HoagNick 'nitr0' CannellaOleksandr 's1mple' KostylievJonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski Eric 'adreN' Hoag Age: 25 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 331 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.64 Josh 'jdm64' Marzano Age: 25 Team: CLG Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 288 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.64 James 'hazed' Cobb Age: 26 Team: CLG Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 325 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.68 Tarik 'tarik' Celik Age: 20 Team: CLG Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 324 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.68 CLG #14 Stephen 'reltuC' CutlerJosh 'jdm64' MarzanoJames 'hazed' CobbJacob 'FugLy' MedinaTarik 'tarik' Celik Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev Age: 18 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.19 Maps played: 402 KPR: 0.84 DPR: 0.70