PW Shanghai Major Day Five Recap: NA teams struggle early in Elimination Stage
The fast-paced opening day of the Elimination Stage is complete at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. Both North American rosters are already in trouble after playing two best-of-one matches, and the road to playoffs isn't getting any easier.
Wildcard cools off against tough competition
As a lowly ranked team, Wildcard was inevitably going to become a victim of some rough draws. Their Elimination Stage run started against FaZe Clan on Ancient, but despite an early lead, Wildcard had no answer for the eternal Håvard "rain" Nygaard, and were crushed in the second half.
FaZeWildcard| FaZe |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Håvard 'rain' Nygaard |
25 - 8 | +17 | 125.1 | 95.7% | 1.98 |
 David 'frozen' Čerňanský |
21 - 10 | +11 | 91.2 | 73.9% | 1.50 |
 Robin 'ropz' Kool |
22 - 14 | +8 | 83.7 | 82.6% | 1.34 |
 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen |
11 - 17 | -6 | 68.2 | 78.3% | 0.97 |
 Helvijs 'broky' Saukants |
7 - 12 | -5 | 39.3 | 78.3% | 0.80 |
| Wildcard |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Love 'phzy' Smidebrant |
17 - 17 | +0 | 80.9 | 60.9% | 1.01 |
 Josh 'JBa' Barutt |
11 - 17 | -6 | 64.0 | 69.6% | 0.83 |
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
11 - 18 | -7 | 58.0 | 65.2% | 0.68 |
| Tim 'susp' Ångström |
10 - 18 | -8 | 59.9 | 52.2% | 0.68 |
 Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz |
9 - 17 | -8 | 45.3 | 47.8% | 0.52 |
Wildcard unfortunately drew the talented Spirit roster in round two, and once again were run over on their CT-side in the second half. Wildcard needed to win two straight best-of-three series to qualify in the last stage, but now they must win three straight to reach playoffs, starting with GamerLegion.
SpiritWildcard| Spirit |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Danil 'donk' Kryshkovets |
18 - 7 | +11 | 98.2 | 89.5% | 1.71 |
 Myroslav 'zont1x' Plakhotia |
18 - 11 | +7 | 100.7 | 89.5% | 1.50 |
| Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolov |
18 - 9 | +9 | 68.2 | 94.7% | 1.45 |
| Boris 'magixx' Vorobiev |
15 - 11 | +4 | 89.2 | 84.2% | 1.45 |
| Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakov |
13 - 12 | +1 | 95.5 | 78.9% | 1.40 |
| Wildcard |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim 'susp' Ångström |
16 - 17 | -1 | 77.1 | 57.9% | 0.93 |
| Love 'phzy' Smidebrant |
11 - 16 | -5 | 82.2 | 68.4% | 0.93 |
| Josh 'JBa' Barutt |
7 - 16 | -9 | 50.9 | 68.4% | 0.63 |
| Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
7 - 17 | -10 | 53.3 | 52.6% | 0.51 |
| Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz |
7 - 17 | -10 | 45.0 | 52.6% | 0.45 |
Liquid swings and misses at the champ, but rallies in Round Two
Team Liquid took on NAVI to start their Elimination Stage run, and the strong Inferno T-side from Canadian duo Keith "NAF" Markovic and Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken put the team in a position to potentially score a major upset. But the rest of Liquid didn't show up, and the CT side collapsed against the weight of the reigning champions.
Natus VincereLiquid| Natus Vincere |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov |
24 - 14 | +10 | 111.3 | 87.0% | 1.62 |
| Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy |
19 - 15 | +4 | 87.9 | 82.6% | 1.36 |
 Mihai 'iM' Ivan |
14 - 16 | -2 | 75.4 | 60.9% | 0.91 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
9 - 15 | -6 | 51.4 | 78.3% | 0.86 |
 Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen |
7 - 16 | -9 | 40.6 | 73.9% | 0.76 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
23 - 14 | +9 | 100.7 | 82.6% | 1.43 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
18 - 15 | +3 | 85.7 | 69.6% | 1.10 |
 Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
12 - 9 | +3 | 50.7 | 78.3% | 0.89 |
| Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
12 - 20 | -8 | 67.7 | 65.2% | 0.83 |
 Justin 'jks' Savage |
9 - 15 | -6 | 49.1 | 60.9% | 0.65 |
Liquid did manage to avoid an 0-2 hole by returning to Inferno and defeating GamerLegion. This time around, Liquid's European players showed up, with Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis putting on a strong T-side performance while Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak had a strong showing on CT. But at 1-1, it means another high stakes best-of-one match in round three, this time against a FURIA roster that's already beaten Spirit and took Vitality to overtime.
LiquidGamerLegion| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis |
16 - 17 | -1 | 86.9 | 95.7% | 1.33 |
| Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
17 - 15 | +2 | 78.3 | 73.9% | 1.11 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
14 - 12 | +2 | 63.7 | 69.6% | 0.96 |
| Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
14 - 12 | +2 | 56.7 | 69.6% | 0.95 |
| Justin 'jks' Savage |
12 - 13 | -1 | 59.2 | 73.9% | 0.90 |
| GamerLegion |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian 'volt' Maloș |
20 - 14 | +6 | 90.5 | 82.6% | 1.35 |
| Erik 'ztr' Gustafsson |
15 - 16 | -1 | 73.9 | 82.6% | 1.02 |
| Timur 'FL4MUS' Marev |
13 - 16 | -3 | 59.3 | 65.2% | 0.87 |
 Henrich 'sl3nd' Hevesi |
13 - 12 | +1 | 57.2 | 78.3% | 0.80 |
| Sebastian 'Tauson' Tauson Lindelof |
8 - 16 | -8 | 53.7 | 82.6% | 0.77 |
Liquid will play first tonight at 10:00PM, with Wildcard fighting for their tournament lives later on at 12:00AM.
