The qualification matches have come to an end and now eight teams are moving on to the Champions Stage. The results have showed us that things are changing on CS:GO scene.
On one of our previous quickpoll we asked if the legends from previous PGL Major Kraków 2017 would be able to keep the majority of their status and "66%" of you were right to say they wouldn't. Here is the list of all teams and results at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 up to this point:
Legends:
G2 - 3:0 - For the second time in a row playing on this tournament format, G2 was able to move on without any losses, they have defeated Cloud9 by 16-8, faced Liquid which they also won by 16-8 and crushed one of the biggest surprises in this major Quantum Bellator Fire by the score of 16-4 to move on to the Champions Stage.
FaZe - 3:0 - To start their run they faced fnatic, which they defeated by 16-8, on the second round they had they opportunity to face Vega Squadron who defeated them on the New Challengers stage and they destroyed them by a 16-3 scoreline. On the last match they faced one of their strongest rivals in the likes of SK and came out of top by beating them 16-12 to reach a perfect score at this stage.
SK - 3:1 - The first match at this stage was against Space Soldiers and they won by 16-13, they moved on to face mousesports who they defeated by 16-12 and the first loss only came on the third match since they lost to FaZe by 12-16. On their second attempt to qualify SK defeat Gambit by 16-10 to secure a spot at the Champions Stage.
Quantum Bellator Fire - 3:1 - Starting out very strong and surprising many, Quantum Bellator Fire demolished Virtus.pro by a 16-3 and faced the last major champion Gambit, which they needed a overtime to beat them by 19-16. On the qualification match against G2 they were crushed by 4-16 and on their second opportunity to qualify against mousesports, it looked like they weren't going to make it, but they came out of top after a bad start and defeated them by 16-14 to move on and keep their dreams alive.
Natus Vincere - 3:1 - As the Legends Stage draws were decided we had one of the biggest CIS rivalties match since Gambit was their first opponent and NaVi didn't have a good time as they lost by 5-16. The first game didn't represent what NaVi had prepared as they recovered just fine from it by beating BIG, Liquid and fnatic without letting any of those teams reach double digits, the score were respectively 16-1, 16-9 and 16-7.
mousesports - 3:2 - It couldn't have been any better of a start as mousesports took down Astralis by a devastating 16-2 scoreline. They moved on to face SK which they lost by 12-16 but quickly recovered from it with another large score win against Vega Squadron by 16-3. In their match against Quantum Bellator Fire it looked like they were going to easily defeat them but they allowed a come back and lost by 14-16. The decider match was against Space Soldier which they lost on New Challengers Stage, but this time they played better and took their revenge by beating them with a 16-13 to qualify to the next stage.
fnatic - 3:2 - On their first match of this stage they faced FaZe and ended up losing by 8-16, but fnatic wasn't ready to give up and they won the following two matches defeating Virtus.pro and Astralis by the scores of 16-6 and 16-8 to turn things around in their favor. At this point fnatic only needed one win and they failed to do it against NaVi which they lost by 7-16. The last match was against Gambit and it would decide the last legend from the previous major to keep their status, fnatic showed they were stronger and defeated them by a very solid 16-2 to keep fighting for the major title.
Cloud9 - 3:2 - It wasn't a very good start for Cloud9 as they lost to G2 and Space Soldiers by 8-16 and 13-16 and it looked like their run could have an early end. That is when Cloud9 decided to do what they know and play some amazing CS to turn things around and come out of this stage after playing three matches that could have eliminated them from the tournament. They defeated Virtus.pro, Astralis and Vega Squadron in a very conving run in all of these matches by the score of 16-7, 16-6 and 16-4 to keep one USA team on the Champions Stage and give the home crowd the chance to cheer for a local team.
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Eliminated teams:
Gambit - 2:3 - With a good start to their run they defeated their rival NaVi by a great 16-5 score but Gambit couldn't keep up and ended up defeat on overtime by the surprising Quantum Bellator Fire with a 16-19 score line. On their third match they recovered well from their loss and defeated Space Soldier by 16-13. At this points Gambit only needed one win to qualify but they ended up facing SK and fnatic who were legends from the previous major and they didn't have good matches losing by 10-16 and 2-16 to end their chances of defending their previous major title.
Vega Squadron - 2:3 - Many were not convinced by Vega Squadron performance on the previous stage but they started well by defeating North with a 16-10 score line. At the following match they lost to FaZe by 3-16 and continued the bad moment on their match against mousesports which was also lost by 3-16. At their first elimination match they played against Liquid, after almost allowing a come back they won by 16-12 . In their last match of the tournament Vega Squadron couldn't stop Cloud9 recovery and lost by a crushing 4-16 score line to be sent home.
Space Soldiers - 2:3 - This was Space Soldiers first major and they faced one of the strongest opponents in the likes of SK which they lost by 13-16. On their second match they played against Cloud9 and surprised everyone by beating them with a 16-13 score but they couldn't carry their good momentum to the following game and lost to Gambit by the same 13-16 score. Playing for their tournament life they beat BIG by 16-8 and the decider match was against mousesports who they had defeated on the previous stage but this time they lost by 13-16 once again to end their run at this major.
Liquid - 1:3 - It was said by their players they already had done more than what they expected on this major by reaching top 16 but Liquid won their first match against BIG by 16-5 to give hope to their fans. After that first good result they couldn't find the same success and ended up losing to G2, NaVi and Vega Squadron by the scores of 8-16, 9-16 and 12-16 to end their changes at this major.
Astralis - 1:3 - Their run started with a demoralizing loss to mousesports by a 2-16 score line. Astralis showed us they were capable of recovering and defeated their danish rivals North by a close 16-14. It wasn't meant to be and they could keep up on their following matches and lost to fnatic and Cloud9 by 8-16 and 6-16 to stay out of the Champions Stage.
BIG - 1:3 - With a very slow start they faced Liquid and NaVi who defeated them by 5-16 and 1-16. At this point BIG needed to show us why they were legends at the last major and they were able to defeat North by a 16-12 scoreline. Playing another match for their life they felt short to Space Soldiers, after they attempted a come back from a bad start, and lost by 8-16.
North - 0:3 - They are not the same team from before and this major is proof since North couldn't even win one of their matches and lost to Vega Squadron, Astralis and BIG respectivelly by 10-16, 14-16 and 12-16 to be eliminated very early.
Virtus.pro - 0:3 - It was disappointing to see Virtus.pro performance at this major, they couldn't reach double digits in any of their matches and were eliminated after losing to Quantum Bellator Fire, fnatic and Cloud9 by 3-16, 6-16 and 7-16.
With the Legends now decided, ELEAGUE's Champions Stage will begin on January 26 at 10:00 AM EST. FaZe will kick off the Quarterfinals against mousesports, followed by Na'Vi vs QB Fire. G2 Esports and Cloud9 will take the stage after that, followed by SK Gaming and Fnatic.
Image courtesy of ELEAGUE
