Vitality beat Liquid in Esports World Cup 2025 Round of 16

Team Vitality claimed a 2–0 victory over Team Liquid in the Esports World Cup 2025 Round of 16. The world’s number one team secured Mirage (13–11) and a tense Dust2 (19–16 OT) to move forward. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Robin “ropz” Kool powered the French-majority roster with a combined 100 kills, while ZywOo topped the server with a 1.46 rating. Despite the loss, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken delivered an outstanding performance for Liquid, finishing as the series MVP by HLTV votes with 53 kills and a 1.49 rating. Vitality now advance to the quarterfinals to face TYLOO.

Map 1 – Mirage (13:11 Vitality)

Liquid chose Mirage but could not close it out. Vitality jumped to a commanding 9–3 first-half lead on CT side before Liquid mounted a late surge. Twistzz and NertZ spearheaded the comeback with sharp rifling, and NAF pulled off a clutch 1v2 with an MP9 to bring Liquid within reach. However, ropz sealed the deal with critical multi-kills, guiding Vitality to a narrow 13–11 win.

Map 2 – Dust2 (19:16 Vitality)

Vitality’s pick of Dust2 went the distance. The first half ended 7–5 for Vitality, but Liquid responded with resilience, forcing overtime after Twistzz clutched a 1v2 post-plant to tie the map. In overtime, ZywOo and flameZ locked down mid control, while ropz closed out with consistent fragging. Vitality outlasted Liquid 7–4 in extra rounds, taking the series 2–0 without the need for Nuke.

With the win, Vitality advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face TYLOO, who knocked out Astralis earlier. Liquid exit in the Round of 16, finishing 9–16th with $20,000. Other results on the day included The MongolZ eliminating GamerLegion and 3DMAX upsetting Natus Vincere.

The Esports World Cup 2025 is hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from August 20–24, featuring 16 top teams and a $1,250,000 prize pool. The winner takes $500,000, the runner-up secures $230,000, and third place earns $130,000. The tournament runs in a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches until the best-of-five grand final.