BLAST Paris Major Challengers Stage day three recap
The third day of the BLAST.tv Paris Major would be sad for North American fans, as it was guaranteed that either Complexity or Liquid would be exiting the competition today. There was a bit of hope that the first Americas team would qualify today, as paiN would take on Apeks on the 2-1 bracket.
For North and South American fans, the day started early, as a quick BO3 before Liquid vs. Complexity, pushed the NA derby forward, catching some people off guard (me, mainly).
If the previous BO3 series was quick, the match between Complexity and Liquid was even quicker. As someone said on Twitter, it was like the older brother was bullying the younger one. The first map, Anubis, picked by Liquid, showed once more that it is heavily T-side favored. Liquid took an early 9-0 lead on the T-side, and Complexity only managed to get three rounds in before halftime. The second half would see Complexity try to get back into the game, but it was too little too late, as Liquid steadily accumulated enough rounds to reach 16.
After a 16-11 on Anubis, Overpass went by in a flash. Liquid was everywhere, snowballing their lead and confidence until they couldn't play on the CT-side anymore. The first half finished with a 15-0 score. Once again, Complexity showed some life, but it was doomed. 16-3 was the final score, and Complexity is now out of the Major.
ComplexityLiquid| Complexity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Håkon 'hallzerk' Fjærli |
27 - 32 | -5 | 62.1 | 56.5% | 0.84 |
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
23 - 37 | -14 | 67.9 | 56.5% | 0.78 |
 Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
22 - 40 | -18 | 63.9 | 60.9% | 0.76 |
 Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
20 - 35 | -15 | 63.5 | 54.3% | 0.71 |
| Michael 'Grim' Wince |
23 - 37 | -14 | 61.7 | 56.5% | 0.65 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
41 - 22 | +19 | 88.9 | 82.6% | 1.44 |
 Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
38 - 26 | +12 | 97.5 | 65.2% | 1.34 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
34 - 21 | +13 | 68.8 | 76.1% | 1.26 |
| Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski |
35 - 24 | +11 | 74.6 | 80.4% | 1.24 |
| Nick 'nitr0' Cannella |
33 - 23 | +10 | 74.6 | 78.3% | 1.20 |
paiN's game against Apeks was a painful one. It all started on Ancient, now a slightly T-side-favored map. The Brazilians managed to put up a decent defense, going into the half down 9-6 after starting down 7-1. The second half saw paiN almost tying the game up but Apeks managed to stay ahead and close the map 16-11.
The second map also showed paiN's incredible ability to produce on the T-side of Vertigo, as they went into halftime ahead 9-6. The second half would be a bit tighter, but paiN was able to get down from floor 51 with a 16-13 win.
The decider would be Anubis, a map where the Brazilians have shown time and time again that they are comfortable there. paiN even managed a very good CT-side with an 8-7 deficit at the half. Despite that, Apeks also felt very comfortable defending on Anubis, and they presented their fans with one very good CT-side, only allowing paiN to score two rounds. The map ended 16-9 and paiN lost the series 2-1, falling to the 2-2 bracket, with Apeks qualifying for Legends.
ApekspaiN| Apeks |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad |
64 - 56 | +8 | 83.8 | 66.7% | 1.23 |
 Martin 'STYKO' Styk |
60 - 48 | +12 | 76.1 | 76.5% | 1.17 |
 Tim 'nawwk' Jonasson |
61 - 51 | +10 | 82.2 | 74.1% | 1.16 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
60 - 59 | +1 | 81.1 | 71.6% | 1.14 |
 Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski |
50 - 54 | -4 | 67.9 | 74.1% | 1.02 |
| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wesley 'hardzao' Lopes |
62 - 52 | +10 | 73.7 | 65.4% | 1.12 |
| Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
59 - 58 | +1 | 79.4 | 65.4% | 1.02 |
| Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
59 - 61 | -2 | 80.8 | 70.4% | 1.02 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
45 - 64 | -19 | 75.4 | 65.4% | 0.90 |
| Romeu 'zevy' Rocco |
41 - 63 | -22 | 56.5 | 56.8% | 0.72 |
With both Americas teams in the 2-2 bracket, it's a relief that they are not facing each other tomorrow. paiN plays Monte at 09:30AM, while Liquid faces Grayhound at 01:30PM. The winners go to the Legends stage, losers go home.
