Here is how the Americas could end up with 8 spots at the Shanghai Major

You can pinch yourself, you're not dreaming. It's entirely possible that the Americas could end up with a ridiculous eight spots at the following Major thanks to the current position of Brazil's quartet in Copenhagen. Imperial and paiN are in a strong position with 2-1 records, while Legacy have shown they are more than capable of being competitive against strong squads, and FURIA is on the comeback.

Should all four squads end up winning their remaining matches, not only will they not play one another, they will also bring the Americas up to eight spots in the Opening Stage at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. Here is how that all happens, should every Brazilian team win their matches.

Imperial plays ECSTATIC later today, if the Brazilians win, they go ahead and qualify 3-1 which ensures that the Americas retain their five spots in the Major.

At the same time, paiN plays SAW which is a much more difficult challenge given the Portuguese squad's exemplary run of form in recent weeks. However, if paiN win they will give the Americas a sixth spot at the Shanghai Major and be on their way to the Elimination Stage.

Now comes the challenging part. FURIA and Legacy are both 1-2 and need to win their next two matches if they want to qualify. Since they have already played one another earlier in this stage of the competition, they cannot have a re-match. Speaking to Legacy first, they will need to beat Apeks this afternoon which is a daunting task, but not impossible as the Europeans have looked sloppy. Should Legacy do that, they will either face ECSTATIC, Lynn Vision, or SAW, the latter of which is the most intimidating.

As for FURIA, they will either play ECSTATIC or Eternal Fire, both of which are tough matchups but winnable for the squad that is stacked with talent.

Legacy's win would give the Americas their seventh spot and FURIA would provide the 8th spot.

The Americas has never had eight teams qualifying for the Major since the introduction of the regional distribution Valve created in the Post-COVID era. The region has a minimum of three teams that will always qualify for the event and started out with six spots at PGL Stockholm Major 2021 based on the number of teams that last played in the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019. The Americas famously lost a spot following the IEM Rio Major 2022 when Imperial, 00 Nation, Evil Geniuses, and 9z all failed to advance to the Legends stage. Only FURIA was able to scrape through.