The Round of 32 of the Esports World Cup Open Qualifiers has concluded, with one high-profile team already eliminated in disappointing fashion, while highly anticipated matchups are set to unfold.
1win eliminated Liquid, while 100 Thieves and BC.Game, after winning their respective first-round playoff matches, will face a clash of titans in the next round.
In the most crucial matchup of this round between 1win and Liquid, a textbook T-side performance allowed 1win to get off to a strong start in the series. Outstanding performances from nafny and Ax1Le drove a methodical push, ultimately building an unstoppable 10-2 lead. Although Liquid managed to win the second round of the second half with a force buy, it was too late to turn the tide.
Liquid struck back with an equally dominant performance on Anubis, with malbsMd in excellent form on the CT side to punish 1win's sluggish and unconvincing attacks, before EliGE and Jorko took over in the second half to seal the victory.
Cache became BELCHONOKK's one-man show, as the rifler delivered a stunning performance. Opening with a 4-kill round on the Desert Eagle during a full-team eco, he quickly became unstoppable. With a brutal 2.46 Rating, he dismantled Liquid and sent 1win to the next round.
Elsewhere in this bracket of death, 100 Thieves and BC.Game comfortably defeated INFINITE and OG respectively to win their Round of 32 matches, setting up a mouth-watering matchup for the next round. s1mple facing device, and Magisk taking on his former teammates from his old organization Astralis—such a storyline couldn't be more perfect.
The remaining matches in the Round of 32 also brought some upsets, with Phantom defeating NRG, JiJieHao eliminating DENDELE, and GenOne beating Echo.
Well-known teams such as BIG, HEROIC, and fnatic all secured 2-0 victories, while Acend, EYEBALLERS, and Inner Circle respectively claimed hard-fought wins against FOKUS, SINNERS, and Iberian Soul in intense matches.
The remaining schedule for the qualifiers is as follows: