Liquid’s miserable 2026 has continued, with Australian underdogs FlyQuest pulling off an upset win in the 2-2 game, securing a Stage 2 spot for themselves. The loss sees Liquid eliminated from the Major, with roster rumors already circulating on social media. Meanwhile, FlyQuest have been given another lease at life in Cologne, and will head into Stage 2 on Jun. 6.
Related—IEM Cologne 2026 Major: Schedule, teams, prize pool, format and more
Team Rosters – FlyQuest vs. Liquid – IEM Cologne 2026
| FlyQuest | Liquid |
|---|---|
| Joshua “INS” Potter | Keith “NAF” Markovic |
| Declan “Vexite” Portelli | Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak |
| Corey “nettik” Browne | Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek |
| Justin “jks” Savage | Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski |
| João “story” Vieira | Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa |
| Aaron “AZR” Ward (C) | Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea (C) |
Match Recap – FlyQuest vs. Liquid – IEM Cologne Major 2026
- FlyQuest removed Mirage
- Liquid removed Overpass
- FlyQuest picked Anubis
- Liquid picked Inferno
- Liquid removed Dust2
- FlyQuest removed Nuke
- Ancient was left over
Anubis – story stars as FlyQuest batter Liquid – 13-2
Two quick USP-S kills on B started the map off with a FlyQuest pistol win. The team’s Portuguese sniper, story, came into the map with guns blazing, as the 24-year-old went up 10-0 in kills in the first four rounds. Singular kills were all Liquid could write home about, until in round six they finally burst into A with a force-buy for their first win.
DADDY IS ON B SITE @vexite_ #IEM pic.twitter.com/PHBV1XDVAk
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 5, 2026
INS’s M4, however, wasn’t content giving up more just yet, finding three headshots to clutch out a 3v5 for FlyQuest. It took Liquid’s IGL, siuhy, stepping up with four to finally get the bomb planted and double their scoreline before the half closed 2-10. With NAF alone putting up any resistance, FlyQuest quickly shut the map out 13-2.
Inferno – Liquid flounder despite EliGE’s 21 kills – 13-7
FlyQuest picked up right where they had left off, with another pistol round win setting them up with an early double. ultimate, who had struggled on Anubis, finally put his name in the kill feed, picking up four headshots on the B-attack for Liquid’s first. In the very next round, though, a Banana battle gave former-Liquid star JKS just enough leeway to clutch out a 1v2 and put the brakes on Liquid’s celebrations.
The @jks_CS clutch brings @FlyQuestCS right back to winnings ways#IEM pic.twitter.com/Hh7zTCAm7V
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 5, 2026
Classically, Inferno rewards the opening frags, but even when Liquid found that advantage, FlyQuest looked comfortable in retakes. The half closed out with a dominant 9-3 half for the Australian side. Another pistol conversion put FlyQuest on the verge of Stage 2 qualification. And while Liquid showed brief signs of life especially with an EliGE 1v2, the scoreline was simply unsurmountable. The map closed out 13-7.
Series Statistics – FlyQuest vs. Liquid – IEM Cologne Major 2026
| Player | Kills | Assists | Deaths | ADR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLY INS | 35 | 10 | 14 | 103.5 |
| FLY story | 35 | 5 | 19 | 83.9 |
| FLY jks | 32 | 14 | 18 | 87.7 |
| FLY Vexite | 31 | 17 | 18 | 103.2 |
| TL EliGE | 26 | 6 | 31 | 81.6 |
| FLY nettik | 20 | 10 | 21 | 67.8 |
| TL NAF | 19 | 7 | 30 | 73.3 |
| TL malbsMd | 17 | 3 | 33 | 51.3 |
| TL ultimate | 16 | 9 | 29 | 60.9 |
| TL siuhy | 12 | 1 | 30 | 43.2 |
Editor’s Notes: Given FlyQuest’s lack of practice throughout the season, and the complete absence of international play from their record, a 1-3 elimination for the team was the expectation at Cologne. But a lucky draw against THUNDERdOWNUNDER, and then a match against Liquid has sent them to Stage 2. While they will still be a pick for going 0-3 there, the boys have already proved their mettle with these wins.
- BLAST.tv Austin Major – 15th-16th
- StarLadder Budapest Major – 15th-16th
- IEM Cologne Major – 25-27th
The real failure, though, is on the side of Team Liquid. For years now the organization has failed to put together an actually competitive roster, instead dancing to the tune of their star players, to middling results at best. The team wouldn’t even have been at the major had it not been for the last-second malbsMd transfer. (And they barely scraped in despite it).
At the end of the day, the responsibility comes to TL’s management. Take this result as the last straw for this roster, and start over. There are still good pieces in the team, especially the trio of American riflers. But they desperately need a better base to shine. Otherwise, one of the game’s longest standing organizations will spend countless more seasons in misery.
