Singularity and FURIA through to Minor closed qualifier
The second day of the first Americas Minor open qualifier has wrapped up, with Singularity and FURIA swiping the first two qualifier spots for the Americas Minor closed qualifier.
The day kicked off with the final quarterfinal playing out between FURIA and Mythic. The two teams seemed to be evenly matched, with Eric "adreN" Hoag pulling out a strong performance, keeping his team neck and neck with FURIA. After a 7-8 half in favor of Mythic, the game was struck by a myriad of technical difficulties, delaying the match's conclusion. Eventually, the game came to a close, with FURIA pulling out a comeback, giving them Train 16-12 and moving them on for the qualifying match.
With all of the quarterfinal matches finished, the first qualifying series kicked off, with Bravado taking on the newly-signed Singularity. Despite high hopes for the South African roster, who had only recently been permitted to play in the qualifier, Singularity proved to be too unified for the roster, with Ryan "ryann" Welsh leading his gang to a swift 16-2 victory on Inferno.
Bravado attempted to level the series on Nuke, taking advantage of the CT-side in the first half. Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek and co. finally caught a break, taking a 9-6 lead at halftime. Singularity conversely took the CT-side by storm in the second half, taking 11 rounds — while losing only one — to take back Nuke 16-10, and the series 2-0, qualifying Singularity for the Americas Minor closed qualifier.
As an Advanced mix, blitz has performed beyond many's expectations, reaching the semifinals of the first Minor open qualifier. After taking down Infamous and oNe earlier in the bracket, the only thing standing between the North American mix and a spot in the minor closed qualifier was FURIA. The Brazilian team dealt a massive blow to the mix on Nuke, crushing blitz on the CT-side to reach a 12-3 scoreline. With four straight rounds in the second half, FURIA took the first map of the series 16-3.
Inferno continued in a similar manner, as FURIA outperformed blitz in their fragging prowess, despite surprisingly strong plays from Maxim "wippie" Shepelev. A semi-competitive 10-5 half showed that blitz wasn't willing to go down without a fight, but they were quickly subdued once again by FURIA, who closed the map 16-6, claiming victory in the series 2-0.
The team list for the Americas Minor North America closed qualifier is now:
Envy | eUnited |
Ghost | Luminosity |
NRG | Rogue |
Spacestation | Swole Patrol |
FURIA | Singularity |
Signups for the second Americas Minor North American open qualifier are currently open, with the qualifier set to begin on October 29th, so make sure to sign up on ESEA if you fancy a chance at taking on Singularity and FURIA in the closed qualifier.
For those in the lower hemisphere, signups are still available for the first Americas Minor South American open qualifier, which will kick off tomorrow. As opposed to North America, South America will only feature two open qualifiers, so make sure to sign up if you also seek a second chance later next week.