Team Liquid vs 3DMAX - ESL Pro League Season23 Stage1

3DMAX arrive in terrible shape. A 25% winrate last month tells the full story, and their recent results back it up, with losses to Astralis, painIN, and HEROIC across their last five outings. The Mirage ban is a significant strategic handicap too, stripping them of any flexibility when it comes to map vetoes.

Liquid, by contrast, are hitting their stride. Back-to-back wins over M80 and SemperFi have them carrying momentum into this series, and their map pool is built to punish 3DMAX specifically. A 68% Mirage winrate and a 69% Ancient winrate are elite numbers, and both maps are likely to feature in this series given 3DMAX's inability to ban Mirage.

3DMAX can make noise on Inferno, where their 60% winrate gives them a genuine path to a map win. But one strong map is not enough to take a Bo3 against a team playing with confidence right now. Liquid's consistency over six months, combined with 3DMAX's sharp recent decline, points firmly in one direction.

Verdict: Liquid win, 2-1