Heartbreak as Aussie hopes FlyQuest reverse-swept out of Shanghai Major

Written by BreadHead

FlyQuest has been eliminated from the Shanghai Major after a 2-0 (13-4, 13-5) defeat against MIBR in the Opening Stage. Driving the dagger deeper, it was a reverse sweep against FlyQuest after a stellar 2-0 first day.

The Boys had a dominant start on day one of the Opening Stage, winning both best-of-ones against Complexity and BIG Clan in brilliant fashion. They even found themselves a single map away from the Elimination Stage against Justin “jks” Savage’s Team Liquid, but the international squad proved to be too good.

From there, it was all downhill for FlyQuest.

The Aussies have seen a resurgence in form since winning DreamHack Atlanta in early October and had a comfortable 2-0 cushion heading into the best-of-three matchups.

The squad faced the ninth-ranked Liquid on day two for their first best-of-three, where once again FlyQuest came out the gate hot 13-5 on the Aussies map pick of Inferno. Star player Joshua “INS” Potter top fragged the game with AWPer Alistair “aliStair” Johnston just behind him with 17 and 16 frags respectively. 

Map two featured Anubis and proved to be highly competitive, with Liquid securing a 13-9 victory. Legendary Aussie jks carried the North American org, single-handedly winning crucial rounds and finishing the map with an impressive 24 kills.

Unfortunately, the map three decider on Nuke was hard to watch as FlyQuest failed to win a single T-side round. They narrowly avoided a 13-0 defeat by securing the CT-side pistol round.

FlyQuest then matched up against Brazilian team paiN. The series ended 2-0 in favour of paiN with map one of Vertigo showcasing back and forth exciting play by both teams, as FlyQuest pushed the Brazilians to overtime but eventually losing the map 16-14.

FlyQuest had shedded a bit of that fire they had in the opening days of the major when it came to map two Inferno. They were dominated on their CT side with paiN AWPer Lucas “nqz” Soares showing his brilliance with the big green, breaking through the defense of the Aussies. The map ended 6-13, leaving the boys heading into the final day 2-2 in a last chance to advance to the elimination stage. 

This left it all on the line on the final day, but in the words of commentator Launders, we witnessed a "slaughter." MIBR made it three Brazilian teams qualifying for the Elimination Stage, utterly dispatching of FlyQuest 2-0 as the boys ran out of gas.

From the get-go, the individuals were completely outmatched by firepower of their Brazilian counterparts. Felipe “insani” Yuji has established himself as one of the top entry fraggers, not only in Brazil but globally, consistently showcasing his skill and class on both maps in the matchup against the Aussies.

The first map of Nuke was far from competitive as MIBR showed off a strong playbook which rattled FlyQuest, who were unable to adapt and keep up with the pace of the MIBR T-side.

Map two followed a similar trajectory as MIBR easily overcame FlyQuest on Inferno. The Brazilian team's cohesion was evident, as everything they attempted seemed to fall into place.

That's it for FlyQuest at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. After a blistering start the boys were unable to convert their excellent work from day one being eliminated going 2-3 in the opening stage. The boys look devastated after the MIBR series being so close to reaching a top 16 position. 

Reaching the Major is an accomplishment in itself, particularly after a fiercely contested RMR run, securing a spot that felt essential for the future of this lineup. FlyQuest now have ESL Pro League Season 21 to look forward to next February, where they will meet fellow OCE squads in Mindfreak and Housebets.

The question is: How different will FlyQuest look?

One Aussie remains: jks to fly the flag as Liquid hit Elimination Stage with ease

There is still hope for Australian CS with jks making it through to the Elimination stage with Liquid.

Jks has had an incredible tournament so far; he is Liquid’s highest rated player sitting at a 1.24 HLTV rating in the opening stage.

The team faced Cloud9 and Wildcard in their opening day of best-of-ones winning both matchups 13-10. Both games saw Liquid in a bit of trouble going down 9-3 against Cloud9 on Ancient and had to overcome a fierce comeback against Wildcard on Inferno.

But it was FlyQuest who gave them the most trouble in the best-of-three qualifier. After a 13-5 drubbing at the hands of aliStair and INS, Liquid rebounded thanks to jks' 1.80-rated Anubis performance before Polish AWPer Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak put the Aussies away on Nuke.

This is jks' ninth major and first for Team Liquid as the North American organization's rebuild hits a key milestone with the Elimination Stage. Liquid return to the server in two days for their first top 16 Shanghai Major bout.