Americas retain at least five slots for Shanghai

Thanks to paiN's victory over SAW which saw them qualify for the Elimination Stage of the Major, the Americas will come into Shanghai with at least five slots. The Americas region receives three base slots plus the amount of teams it sends to the Elimination Stage of the previous Major. With Complexity qualifying to the Elimination Stage through the RMR and paiN now qualifying, the Americas will have at least five slots come next Major.

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Keeping five slots means the next Americas RMR will still be played in a Swiss system, as opposed to a simple double elimination format which would have been the case had the Americas have four or fewer slots at the Major.

Five is now just the minimum for the Americas at Shanghai, with the other three Brazilian teams in the Opening Stage still in the running after Legacy's elimination of Apeks earlier today. There still exists the remote possibility of all four Brazilian teams advancing forward, which would give the Americas eight slots at Shanghai.

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If either Legacy, FURIA, or Imperial qualify, the Americas will have six or more slots, meaning the format for the next RMR will be a triple elimination Swiss system as opposed to the double elimination last time in Monterrey, a point of contention for many teams and viewers.