Lazarus, eUnited move on to ESL One NY closed qualifier

The first North American open qualifier for ESL One New York has come to an end, with Lazarus and eUnited earning spots in the closed stage.

Lazarus coasted through their side of the single-elimination bracket and sealed qualification with a convincing 2-0 victory over Luminosity in a match where Jaccob "⁠yay⁠" Whiteaker was the team's top-performing player on both maps, finishing the series with a 1.59 rating and 102 ADR.

The former Complexity player has been standing in for Lazarus since Michael "⁠dapr⁠" Gulino was released from his contract and is widely expected to link up with the former Swole Patrol team on a permanent basis after briefly playing for the Bad News Bears.

yay helped Lazarus to qualify for the closed bracket

On the opposite side of the bracket, eUnited collided with Singularity in a close quarter-final match in which Edgar "⁠MarKE⁠" Maldonado was the hero as he dropped a 30-bomb to help his team to pick up a close 16-12 victory. Austin "⁠Cooper⁠" Abadir's troops proceeded to face TeamOne in the last-four stage, scraping a 2-1 victory over the spirited Brazilian side to clinch a spot in the next stage.

Lazarus and eUnited will be joined by the leading sides of the second open bracket and by four invited teams in the closed qualifier, scheduled for June 27. The winner of the tournament will claim a spot at the main event, which will be held from September 26-29, with $200,000 on the line.