They beat Team Liquid in a highly contested match across five maps.
The Grand Final of the ESL Pro League Season 16 is the biggest event before we dive into the upcoming IEM Rio Major. After over a month of matches and maps, we are down to the final battle between Team Liquid and Team Vitality. On one side, we have a team based in Europe with most of their roster coming from the Americas apart from YEKINDAR. On the other, we have the giant of French CS:GO which in recent years has been more internationally staffed than before. What would these two giant teams bring to the table at the Grand Final? Let’s find out.
Inferno was chosen as the first map of the series, where Team Liquid immediately showed their prowess by diving straight into the fight via five straight terrorist wins before Team Vitality got their first win. The lead of five points was maintained all the way to the end of the first half. In the second half, Team Liquid continued their aggressive play by bulldozing the defences of Team Vitality and swiftly ended the map by round 23 with a score of 16-7.
On Dust2, Team Liquid attempted to replicate their success on Inferno, but Team Vitality easily caught up to them by round six and built a three-point lead by the end of the first half. They banked on the momentum they saw in the first half to carry them forward in the second half, and this time it was Team Vitality’s turn to end the match in round 23, with a score of 16-7.
This map was the reason the grand final match lasted over six hours. Mirage saw Team Vitality leap out of the gate and immediately set up a huge seven-point lead by the end of the first half. Team Liquid, however, rose and eventually caught up by round 28; by round 30, both teams were tied. Overtime was then called, where both teams played a ping pong match, with one side trying to up one another to gain the advantage. In the end, Team Liquid managed to be ahead by round 43 and coasted to the finish by round 46. Team Liquid won 25-21.
Overpass saw Team Vitality again opening the match with a string of wins, but then Team Liquid easily caught up to them by round 10. At the end of the first half, Team Liquid was ahead by a single point. In the second half, Team Vitality managed to catch up by round 24, and both teams tied once again by round 30. The overtime was short this time around – only for six rounds, and Vitality managed to win four out of the six, leaving them the victors with 19-17.
Vertigo was the final round of the series. By this time, both teams look to be a bit tired after playing continuously for over five hours. Even so, Team Vitality seemed to be less affected as they immediately went on the offensive in the first half, leaving Team Liquid in the dust as they head into the swap. With the five-point advantage from the first half, Team Vitality managed to stay a few steps ahead, even as Team Liquid tried to tie the scores. But the back-to-back overtime matches seemed to have drained Team Liquid as by round 27, it was all over as Team Vitality won the map with ZywOo finishing it off, scoring his 142nd kill as he shot EliGE down to give his team the 16-11 win.
Team Vitality, as the champion, walks away with $200,000 in cash money, as well as qualification to both BLAST World Final 2022 set to be played in Abu Dhabi in December, as well as to IEM Katowice 2023. Team Liquid meanwhile walked away with $85,000 in cash and heads up high knowing that they played their best in the tournament.
