Team Liquid have lifted the iBUYPOWER Masters FML 2026 trophy after a convincing 2-0 victory over Wildcard in the Grand Final. Liquid controlled Inferno 13-4 before finishing the series with a 13-9 win on Anubis.
The victory completed a flawless tournament run in Las Vegas. Liquid did not drop a single map across the event, while Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa delivered another standout performance in the deciding series.
Liquid Take Immediate Control on Inferno
Wildcard selected Inferno for the opening map, but the pick quickly worked against them.
Liquid produced a dominant first half and entered the break with a 10-2 advantage. Wildcard managed only two additional rounds after the side switch before Liquid closed the map 13-4.
Several Liquid players contributed heavily to the one-sided result:
- NAF finished Inferno with a 1.85 rating
- malbsMd recorded a 1.73 rating
- Jorko posted a 1.69 rating
- Liquid allowed Wildcard only four rounds in total
The performance immediately placed Wildcard under pressure heading onto Liquid’s Anubis pick.
malbsMd Takes Over on Anubis
Wildcard showed significantly more resistance on the second map.
Liquid still entered halftime ahead 8-4, but Wildcard managed to keep the game competitive after the break. The North American squad reached nine rounds before Liquid finally secured the 13-9 victory.
malbsMd was the decisive player.
The Guatemalan rifler finished Anubis with 25 kills and only nine deaths, posting a 2.27 rating. His 123.9 ADR also made him the most damaging player on the server.
malbsMd ended the Grand Final with 41 kills, 22 deaths and a 1.62 series rating.
EliGE also provided important support on Anubis, while NAF and Jorko had already done much of the damage during the opening map.
| Map | Liquid | Wildcard |
|---|---|---|
| Inferno | 13 | 4 |
| Anubis | 13 | 9 |
| Series | 2 | 0 |
Cache was left as the deciding map but was never required.
Liquid Finish the Event Without Dropping a Map
The Grand Final continued a remarkably clean tournament for Liquid.
Their run began with a 2-0 victory over Chicken Coop before they defeated NRG in another two-map series. The team then faced M80 in the semifinals and survived a much closer Cache before destroying their opponents on Anubis.
Liquid’s tournament path included:
- 2-0 against Chicken Coop
- 2-0 against NRG
- 2-0 against M80
- 2-0 against Wildcard
That gave Liquid an 8-0 map record across four series.
The semifinal against M80 provided the closest test. Cache went to overtime before Liquid eventually won 16-13, but Anubis was completely different as Liquid closed the map 13-2.
Wildcard Complete Impressive Lower-Bracket Recovery
Wildcard’s run deserves attention despite the difficult Grand Final.
The team began the tournament with a 0-2 loss against NRG in Group A. That put Wildcard under immediate elimination pressure, but they recovered through the lower side of the group.
Wildcard later gained revenge against NRG with a 2-0 victory in the decider match.
They then faced Brazilian side DENDELE in the semifinals. After losing Mirage 11-13, Wildcard recovered to win Nuke 13-10 and Inferno 13-8, earning a place in the Grand Final.
Liquid ultimately proved to be a much harder challenge.
Liquid Collect $12,500 in Las Vegas
The iBUYPOWER Masters FML 2026 featured eight teams competing for a $30,000 prize pool in Las Vegas.
Liquid earned $12,500 for first place, while Wildcard collected $7,000 as runners-up. M80 finished third for $3,500, with DENDELE taking fourth and $2,500.
The tournament also carried ranking significance for several North American teams.
Liquid entered the event outside the highest tier of the global rankings, making a clean LAN victory valuable as the team continues rebuilding its position during the second half of 2026.
New Liquid Lineup Shows Promising Form
The tournament was another opportunity for Liquid’s current roster to develop around malbsMd, NAF, EliGE, Jorko and JT.
Their individual performances were consistently strong in Las Vegas.
malbsMd had already posted a 1.56 rating against M80 before producing another dominant showing against Wildcard. NAF was especially effective on Inferno in the final, while Jorko continued to provide impact across the event.
The level of opposition at iBUYPOWER Masters was below that of the biggest international events, so the result should not automatically be treated as evidence that Liquid are ready to challenge the world’s leading teams.
It does, however, provide tangible progress.
Assessment
Liquid could hardly have produced a cleaner result in Las Vegas.
Winning the trophy without losing a map demonstrates consistency across the entire event, while the performances from malbsMd, NAF and Jorko give the roster several encouraging individual signs.
malbsMd was particularly impressive. His ability to take over Anubis effectively ended Wildcard’s hopes of forcing a third map and capped an excellent tournament.
Wildcard can also leave the event with positives after recovering from an opening defeat to reach the Grand Final.
For Liquid, the next challenge is translating this form into stronger international competition. The iBUYPOWER Masters title does not answer every question surrounding the roster, but an undefeated LAN run provides useful momentum as the team moves toward its next events.
