Vitality have moved on to the semi-finals of the BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 2 Finals after a close 2-0 win over Liquid. The match was intense and featured two maps, Train and Nuke, both decided in overtime.
Liquid chose to start on Train, which felt like a bold move given the map’s complexity. Yet, they struggled on the Terrorist side, managing only three rounds before switching sides with a big deficit. A pistol round loss early on didn’t help their cause. Despite this, players like Guy “NertZ” Iluz and Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak showed grit, carrying Liquid into overtime. But then Vitality took control, sparked by a 1vs2 clutch from Robin “ropz” Kool, sealing the map 16-13.
On Nuke, Liquid started strong, jumping to a 5-0 lead thanks to a clutch 1vs2 from Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken. But Vitality quickly fought back. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut responded with his own 1vs2, and Vitality took six of the next seven rounds to level the score at 6-6 at halftime.
After the side switch, Vitality reclaimed momentum. A Zeus kill by ropz and a solid CT defense stifled Liquid’s offense. Still, Liquid kept their hopes alive with a comeback led by Twistzz and Keith “NAF” Markovic, reaching 12-10. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t close out their map points, and overtime followed once again.
In the overtime rounds, Vitality’s clutch plays by ZywOo and William “mezii” Merriman kept their team in the game. Eventually, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and his squad secured the 19-16 win on Nuke, clinching the series.
Liquid Showing Signs of Improvement?
Despite the loss, Liquid’s performance in Malta might signal a turning point. Just two weeks ago, they suffered a surprising defeat to VP.Prodigy, but since then, they have taken down FURIA and pushed the world’s top team, Vitality, to the edge twice at Bounty.
The addition of coach Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea seems to have awakened new potential in the roster. Also, NAF’s form has notably improved, posting a 1.08 rating across the tournament’s online and LAN matches. Could this be the fresh start Liquid needed? Maybe that’s what they were going for.
Match Highlights
- Twistzz breaks Vitality with a 4K
- ZywOo gets a smoke kill to win 4v3
- ultimate 1v3s for Liquid’s third
- ZywOo’s sharp with the P250
- ropz 1vs2 in OT
- siuhy starts Nuke with crisp 4k
- Twistzz 1vs2 keeps Liquid flawless
- ZywOo onetaps NAF to win 1vs2
- Vitality break through Ramp stack with some insane shots
- NAF to the rescue with 1vs2
- ropz 3k forces overtime
Wow, the tension was real throughout this match. Have you noticed how close these top teams are lately? Vitality’s win might be narrow, but their composure in clutch moments made the difference. What do you think Liquid needs to finally break through?
