The Golden Road dream is over.
Team Liquid bowed out of contention after yielding to Alter Ego’s stirring comeback, absorbing a 3-2 loss to settle for a fourth-place finish at the M7 World Championship on Saturday at the MPL Arena XO Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Filipino champions appeared primed for a deep lower-bracket run after seizing a 2-1 series lead, but unraveled in the final two games as their Indonesian counterparts surged back to steal the series.
Alter Ego struck first with an emphatic Game 1 victory before Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno answered in Game 2, delivering a near-flawless outing on Fredrinn. The former world champion tallied five kills and eight assists to pull Team Liquid even.
Team Liquid carried that momentum into Game 3, executing a decisive ambush on the bottom lane midway through the 13th minute. The play resulted in two pickoffs, the destruction of two inhibitor turrets, and firm control of the map.
Kiel “Oheb” Soriano then sealed the win with a clutch double kill in the 15th-minute Lord fight, sparking a game-ending 4-for-2 exchange.
However, after dropping Game 4, Team Liquid’s bid faltered in the deciding match. Despite building an early economic lead of up to 3,500 ahead of the first Lord, the tide turned when Alter Ego forced a crucial 3-for-1 trade during an extended 11th-minute skirmish. The Indonesians secured the Lord and never looked back, cruising to the series-clinching victory.
Team Liquid, champions of back-to-back MPL Philippines titles and the Mid-Season Cup, fell just short of completing the Golden Road, exiting the M-series in fourth place.
