Team Liquid’s Esports World Cup 2026 campaign has ended far earlier than expected after a 1-2 defeat to 1win in the Round of 32 of the open qualifier. Liquid recovered from a difficult opening map and forced the series to a Cache decider, but a dominant performance from Andrey “BELCHONOKK” Yasinskiy ultimately sent the North American organization home. The elimination is another painful setback for Liquid, who entered the Paris qualifier needing a strong run after missing direct VRS invitations to several major events. Instead, they leave without securing one of the four available spots at the $2 million Esports World Cup.
Liquid’s qualifier run ends against 1win
Liquid reached the playoffs without dropping a map. They opened the event with a 2-0 victory over Dhala before defeating Metizport by the same score to advance from their group.
The first playoff round presented a much tougher challenge in 1win, and Liquid immediately found themselves under pressure. Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov and Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov helped 1win produce an excellent T side on the opening map, building a commanding 10-2 halftime advantage.
Liquid attempted to recover after the break, but the deficit proved too large and 1win comfortably moved ahead in the series. Liquid responded on Anubis. Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa played a major role on the CT side, while Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Georgi “Jorko” Mitev helped close out the map after the switch, forcing the series onto Cache.
BELCHONOKK destroys Liquid on the decider
Cache quickly turned into the BELCHONOKK show. The 1win rifler delivered the defining individual performance of the series, including a four-kill Deagle round while his team was on a full eco.
That round became the starting point for a remarkable performance from the 21-year-old, who finished the map with a 2.46 rating. Liquid were unable to find an answer as 1win took control of the decider and completed the 2-1 upset.
The result sends 1win into the next round of the playoffs, while Liquid’s EWC qualification campaign is officially over.
Another major blow for Liquid
The timing of the elimination makes the result particularly damaging. Liquid recently reached the grand final of Stake Pulse Beat I, where they lost 1-2 to Betclic, but that run was not enough to secure direct VRS invitations to their upcoming major tournaments.
The EWC open qualifier therefore represented an important opportunity to compensate for their ranking position and reach one of the biggest events of the second half of 2026. Instead, Liquid failed at their first major qualification test.
Their exit is especially striking considering they had shown that they could compete with elite opposition earlier in the season, including their upset victory over Vitality during the online stage of BLAST Bounty Season 2.
Liquid fans turn on the team after elimination
The reaction underneath Liquid’s announcement was overwhelmingly negative. The organization wrote that the team had “fought until the very end” and thanked supporters for following their EWC qualification journey, but many fans were frustrated by another disappointing result.
Some directly questioned the current roster:
New players same shit style just disband.
Another fan criticized the team’s performance outside its strongest map:
Only one map where you can do anything is Anubis and that’s it.
Others focused on Liquid’s map pool and called for Cache to be removed:
Plz remove cache from our map pool.
There were also questions about further roster changes, with one supporter asking:
Is it too late to swap out NAF too?
The frustration was summed up by another response:
I don’t know how much longer I can take it.
The reaction reflects the growing pressure around Liquid. The roster has undergone significant changes, but the organization is still struggling to translate individual quality into consistent results.
Liquid leave Paris with more questions than answers
Liquid arrived at the qualifier with a clear objective: secure one of the four EWC spots and rebuild momentum after their recent VRS problems. They instead leave after their first playoff series.
For 1win, the victory keeps their EWC dream alive and gives them one of the biggest wins of their qualifier campaign. For Liquid, the defeat adds another setback to a season in which every missed opportunity is becoming increasingly costly.
