The final day of group stages at the ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta saw several teams fight and scratch their way into position to live to see another day, while others crumbled and left us wondering if we would ever see them in their same interation again.
Nonetheless, the line has been drawn, and those who won three of their matches have qualified for the playoffs.
Standings after Day 4 of the ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta:
| Qualified | W/L | Eliminated | W/L |
 Virtus.pro | 3-0 |  HellRaisers | 0-3 |
| Natus Vincere | 3-0 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 0-3 |
 Fnatic | 3-1 |  G2 Esports | 1-3 |
 SK Gaming | 3-1 |  Mousesports | 1-3 |
 Gambit | 3-1 |  OpTic Gaming | 1-3 |
 North | 3-2 | GODSENT | 2-3 |
| FaZe Clan | 3-2 | EnVyUs | 2-3 |
| Astralis | 3-2 |  Team Liquid | 2-3 |
Game One
North vs. G2 Esports - 11:4, 5:5 (16:9)
Day four of the ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta started off with a thrilling elimination match between G2 Esports and North on Overpass.
North began the match on the Terrorist side, where Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke helped take control of the pistol round for the Danes, and swung the tides in their favour to take four straight rounds. G2 Esports slowly began to chip away at the Danish lead, but ultimately only put together four rounds of their own in the first half.
G2 came out of the gate with determination in the second half with a pistol round rush that provided enough momentum to take the following two rounds, and take the score to 7-11, still in the Danes' favour. North, however, did not stay quiet for long, and quickly made work of G2's Terrorist side to win 16-9, and keep themselves alive. G2 Esports, unfortunately, would be heading home.
Game Two
Fnatic vs. EnVyUs - 7:8, 9:3 (16-11)
With a playoff spot on the line, Swedish legends Fnatic took on the young French stars EnVyUs in a best of 1 matchup on Cobblestone, to determine who rightfully belongs in the Atlanta ELEAGUE Major playoffs. Throughout the first half, we saw exceptional contributions from both sides, highlighted by Fnatic's Simon "twist" Eliasson and EnVyUs' Dan "apEX" Madesclaire; but no team was able to gain a decisive lead over one another. The first half concluded with the Frenchmen just barely on top at 8-7.
The second half, however, was dominated by a driven Fnatic team, who showed EnVyUs the playoff spot was theirs for the taking by finishing the match with a 16-11 victory. After this loss, EnVyUs found themselves in a "fight or flight" situation as they faced elimination in their next match.
Game Three
Team Liquid vs. Mousesports - 11:4, 5:0 (16:4)
In another elimination match for the ages, North American favourites Team Liquid were set to go up against Mousesports on Nuke. While Team Liquid had experienced moderate recent success on this map, Mousesports found themselves on the less-experienced side of this best of 1 matchup, thanks to the map selection.
Team Liquid started off hot, disrupting the European squad's game plan right off the bat to get out to a 5-0 lead. Aside from Nikola "NiKo" Kova?, the North Americans did not experience much resistance from mousesports, as they strolled into an 11-4 halftime lead. Unfortunately for NiKo, the rest of the mousesports roster could not seem to put things together to shut down Team Liquid, who took the victory over mousesports 16-4.
Game Four
GODSENT vs. OpTic Gaming
GODSENT and OpTic Gaming were pitted against one another in a battle for tournament survival; in this match, the loser would be forced to go home.
GODSENT found themselves in a familiar place, starting off on the Terrorist side on Cache, where they put on a show to get out on a quick 6-0 lead over OpTic Gaming. While OpTic Gaming did show signs of life in the first half, they ultimately found themselves down 10-5 to the Swedes, and on the brink of elimination.
The second half was more of the same GODSENT dominance; any time it looked like OpTic Gaming may respond, their hopes were stifled by outstanding play from Jonas "Lekr0" Olofsson, and the rest of the GODSENT crew. Ultimately, GODSENT were just too much for OpTic Gaming to handle, and they were sent packing after a 16-8 elimination round loss.
Game Five
SK Gaming vs. Astralis - 7:8, 8:7, 4:2 (19:17)
SK Gaming squared off against Astralis on Dust2 for the opportunity to secure a place in the ELEAGUE Major playoffs in Atlanta.
Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's squad took to the Terrorist side first, where their expert strategizing and teamwork lead them to an early 3-0 lead over the Danes. Astralis, however, did not just roll over; Nicolai "device" Reedtz's team managed to string together five straight rounds to jump out ahead over SK Gaming. This lead, however, would not last long; as both teams went back and forth trading rounds, which left both teams on each other's heels at the half at 8-7, with Astralis just barely on top.
As the teams switched sides, SK Gaming began to assert its dominance over Astralis; the Brazilian powerhouse took 4 straight rounds to make the score 12-8, and forced Astralis into a tactical timeout to calm down and regroup. It seemed as though this timeout did the trick for Astralis, as they clawed their way back to a 13-14 deficit. With both teams once again going back and forth, unable to string together multiple rounds, overtime was just over the horizon.
Sure enough, after thirty rounds, both teams sat tied at 15-15, and ready for extra innings. It was here that SK Gaming showed their endurance and desire to excel, as they took the overtime victory with relative ease over Astralis, 19-15.
Game Six
Gambit vs. FaZe Clan - 8:7, 8:7 (16:14)
Gambit went up against FaZe on Overpass to defend their legend status and attempt to secure a spot in the ELEAGUE Major playoffs.
FaZe started off the match on the Counter-Terrorist side, where they took the first round thanks to a three-kill round by Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey. The rest of the first half set a precedent for the term "back and forth" as both teams seemingly traded rounds one after another until the half ended at 8-7 in favour of Gambit.
The second half saw Gambit finally assert the first resemblance of control seen throughout this matchup by winning the first three rounds, and furthering their advantage to 14-9 after a stretch of outstanding play from Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev. FaZe, however, would not go down without a fight, and forced Gambit into a 30 round marathon that ended with Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov and co. on top at 16-14.
Game Seven
North vs. GODSENT - 7:8, 8:7, 4:2 (19-17)
North went through the gauntlet today as they avoided elimination earlier against G2, and now were facing being sent home once more by GODSENT, who were also in danger of being eliminated, in another matchup on Overpass.
North had the advantage of warming up on Overpass earlier in the day during their elimination match with G2 Esports, and their momentum continued as they got off to an early 5-0 lead over GODSENT. Unfortunately for North, on a run fueled by Jesper "JW" Wecksell's 20 first-half kills, Fnatic found themselves ahead 8-7 at the conclusion of the first half.
North's early-game success continued in the second half, as they took the first three rounds, and momentarily; the Danes appeared poised to run away with the match as they neared match point at 14-10. GODSENT, however, did not let up, and managed to force overtime and push North back on their heels once more.
Overtime saw both teams go back and forth, but the combined 70 frags between North's Emil "Magisk" Reif and Ruben "RUBINO" Villarroel were too much for the Swedes handle. North took the victory over GODSENT 19-17, and moved on to the quarter-finals.
Game Eight
FaZe Clan vs. EnVyUs 9:6, 7:5 (16:11)
After a tough loss to Fnatic, EnVyUs suddenly found themselves facing elimination as they went up against FaZe Clan, who were on their way to securing a playoff position.
While EnVyUs put up a fight throughout their first half tenure on the Counter-Terrorist side, FaZe's team play was too much for the Frenchmen to handle, as they fell down 9-6 after one half of play.
It seemed as though every good play EnVyUs made to secure a round was responded to with a string of several successful round for FaZe. Although we saw brief signs of life from EnVyUs in the second half, mostly thanks to the dominance of Kenny "kennyS" Schrub, a five round streak was unfortunately just not enough, as Aleksi "allu" Jalli's squad provided the perfect counter to EnVyUs' strategizing, and allowed them to secure the 16-11 victory; and with that, a spot in the playoffs.
Game Nine
Astralis vs. Team Liquid 12:3, 4:0 (16:3)
In the final match of the night, Team Liquid and Astralis were pitted against one another in an elimination match, where the winner would secure a spot in the playoffs, and the loser would be sent home. The stage was set on Mirage, with Astralis starting off on the Counter-Terrorist side.
Astralis got off to a good start by taking the pistol round, which propelled them to an early 4-2 lead over the North American squad. Team Liquid were able to take just one more round in the half; Astralis read them like a book and took advantage of Team Liquid's lack of Terrorist side execution.
The first half would end at 12-3, and Team Liquid never recovered. Nicolai "device" Reedtz and his team quickly took care of Team Liquid in the second half to win the match 16-3, and finally make it out of a group stage and into the playoffs.
Once the dust had settled, the ELEAGUE playoff brackets were released, which set the stage for this weekend's action:
