The Polish team Betclic emerged victorious in Stake Pulse Beat I, defeating Liquid in the grand final of the Swedish LAN tournament. The series ended with a 2-1 victory for the Poles—11-13 on Cache, 13-10 on Anubis, and 13-7 on Nuke.
This triumph allowed Betclic to significantly improve its position in the VRS rankings—the team jumped 34 spots and entered the world’s top 50. The victory also provided a major boost ahead of their campaign in the open qualifiers for the Esports World Cup, which begins on August 7.
Betclic’s path to the title included victories over Ascend and Johnny Speeds in the playoffs, as well as a rematch against Liquid in the decisive match. Earlier, Liquid had defeated the Polish team in the Group B winners’ match, and victories over 9INE and fnatic allowed them to continue their climb up the VRS rankings. Despite the loss in the final, Liquid also improved its standing and entered the top 20 of the world rankings.
However, in the tournament’s final match, Betclic had the last word—the Polish team got its revenge and claimed the first Stake Pulse Beat I championship title.
Betclic edged out Liquid in a tense series
The final series began on Cache, where Liquid seized the initiative from the very first rounds and quickly built a comfortable lead—9–2. However, the North American team was unable to hold onto its advantage, allowing Betclic to close the gap after a failed 5v2 play late in the first half. After switching sides, Liquid continued to lose control of the game, finding themselves in difficult clutch situations several times, but still managed to close out the map in their favor with a score of 13–11. After the match, NAF noted that the team lost focus and should have closed out the map more confidently.
On Anubis, Liquid once again managed to dictate the pace—the team took a 6–2 lead on the attack and, after the break, extended their lead to 10–8. However, this time Betclic didn’t let their opponents close out the map. The Polish team capitalized on Liquid’s poor rounds following a lost pistol round, with several multi-kills from Prism and a 1v2 clutch by Qlocuu proving to be key moments. Thanks to this, Betclic staged a comeback and took the map 13-10, sending the series to the decisive Nuke.
On the third map, Betclic immediately took control of the game. Prism and fr3nd consistently punished Liquid for their failed pushes, allowing the Polish team to finish the first half with an 8-2 lead. Liquid’s attempt to get back into the game after the side switch was quickly thwarted—Prism pulled off a crucial triple kill in the pistol round, turning a difficult 2v4 situation into a winning play. After that, Betclic rapidly closed in on match point and soon closed out the map with a score of 13:7, becoming the champions of Stake Pulse Beat I.