GGPR, X13, Triton, and Counter Nature through to DreamHack Open June Closed Qualifier
The two open qualifiers for DreamHack Open June have run their course, seeing four teams make it to the Closed Qualifier.
The first qualifier kicked off on Thursday, likely contributing to a scant field of just 30 teams. The bracket immediately saw an upset, as Logan "Voltage" Long's Michigan Mittens mix defeated 8-4 Advanced side Villainous.
Michigan Mittens' tournament was short-lived, however, as they fell to Valkyrie 16-10 in the next round. In the same round of play, Max "SolGoat" Wallace's Brazen side gave GGPR a scare, but ultimately succumbed 16-12 on Vertigo.
In the third round of play, Verum shut-out YeniCherry 16-0 on Mirage, while X13 defeated Valkyrie 16-13 on Dust2.
This set up matches between GGPR and Verum, and Counter Nature and X13, with the winners advancing to the Closed Qualifier. Though both series would end 2-0, they were by no means blowouts.
Starting off on Nuke, GGPR were just barely able to edge out their Advanced opposition on the defensive side, before opening up the second half with five rounds in a row to extend their lead to 13-7. Verum staved off defeat for a few rounds, but eventually fell 16-12.
Mirage flipped the script for the two teams, with Verum ending the first half up 8-7 this time, and reaching a 10-7 lead to open up their T-side. However, GGPR would again go on a long winning streak, storming up to a 15-10 lead, which Verum were unable to recover from.
X13 and Counter Nature played as tight a 2-0 series as you will ever see, with both maps going the distance and beyond. Dust2 saw both teams put up equivalent 10-5 T-side halves before X13 were able to claim the map in triple overtime. On Inferno, Devin "AtomiK" Ferrell's side took their time converting a 9-6 halftime lead into a 16-14 map and series victory.
The full bracket is available here.
The second qualifier saw slightly more teams participate than the first. In the second round of play, the first-seeded Valkyrie squad were upset by fellow Advanced table toppers Laboratory Services. In another match of note, Cameron "cam" Kern's University of New Haven squad was defeated by Main outfit NeverBrokeAgain.
Both Laboratory Services and NeverBrokeAgain would be eliminated in the next round at the hands of Brazen and HeadShotKings, respectively. In the same round, Verum would be eliminated by 9-3 Advanced team Triton.
Triton would take another scalp in round four, this time belonging to YeniCherry. Despite help from Triumph member David "cynic" Polster, HeadShotKings edged out Pryde 16-14.
All these results culminated in the semi-final matchups being Brazen against Triton, and HeadShotKings versus Counter Nature.
Triton continued their strong form on the opening map of Inferno, taking the first five rounds of the map. From here their T-side slowed down, though they managed to end the half with a respectable 9-6 lead. Four more rounds to open the second-half put the map nearly out of reach for Brazen, and indeed, they would only find one additional round before bowing out 16-7.
Nuke was a tight affair, with three or less rounds separating the two teams for the bulk of the map. Tianyi "Fr3nk1e" He and Triton must have made a wish at 11-11, though, as they won the next five rounds in a row to send the upstart Advanced team through to the Closed Qualifier.
The series between Counter Nature and HeadShotKings was the lone semi-final to go all three maps. Counter Nature started things off in dominant fashion, cruising to a 10-5 lead on the T-side of Nuke before slamming the door shut with six rounds in a row to secure the map.
Fortunes were reversed on Overpass, as this time it was Matthew "scar" Bruni and HeadShotKings who were in control after the opening half. Counter Nature's offense proved difficult for HeadShotKings to stop, and the latter team were only able to string two rounds together once in the second half. However, that streak came when it was most needed, in the thirtieth round of the map, helping HeadShotKings avoid overtime and stay alive in the series.
The series remained tight on Mirage, as Connor "wry" Griffin helped Counter Nature edge out a slim 8-7 lead on their Terrorist side, while scar matched him on the scoreboard for HeadShotKings. Two more rounds for Counter Nature to open the second half brought their lead to 10-7, and then HeadShotKings went on a five round tear to take a 12-10 lead. Unfortunately for Max "Makzwell" Sparrey, they would only win one further round on the map, and Counter Nature would close out Mirage 16-13 to book the final spot in the Closed Qualifier.
The full bracket is available here.
The DreamHack Open June Closed Qualifier is set to run from the 17th to the 20th, with the two top teams advancing to the main event. The four invited sides have yet to be announced.