Renegades secure New Champions Stage spot over G2

Renegades secured a 2-1 victory against G2, yielding them Legends status and advancement to the New Champions Stage of the StarLadder Major.

The first concluding series of the New Legends Stage saw Renegades take on G2 for a spot in the playoffs of the Major. Affairs commenced on Vertigo, where a USP-S triple kill from Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad ensured the first round for his team. A force buy from G2 in the follower allowed the Frenchmen to extend a lead, but the defensive maintained, equalising at four rounds apiece.

The two teams proceeded to go shoulder-in-shoulder till round 13, where Renegades finally found a break and were able to run away with a 9-6 lead, courtesy of outstanding triple kills from Aaron "⁠AZR⁠" Ward and Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage in preceding rounds.

A repeat of the first pistol round saw jkaem land another triple kill, this time with the Glock, creating space for his team's lead to be furthered. Upon securing rifles, G2 answered in with three consecutive rounds of their own, but struggled to maintain a consistent performance. Renegades accrued rounds, sustaining their lead position, subsequently closing out the map with a 16-11 scoreline, highlighted by an AK-47 quad kill from AZR.

Renegades proceeded to build on the momentum from Vertigo, securing the first three rounds on the defence of map two, Dust2. The lead was short-lived, as G2 went on to equalise and extend their position to four rounds, witnessing a Krieg triple kill by François "⁠amanek⁠" Delaunay. The ensuing game dynamic saw the teams exchange strings of round, where Renegades came out slightly on top, thanks to another triple kill by jkaem, concluding the initial half with an 8-7 lead.

Upon switching to the defence, G2 immediately equalised, following their pistol round success with a string of four consecutive rounds. The Australian squad managed to secure two rounds of their own, the latter thanks to double kills from Jay "⁠Liazz⁠" Tregillgas and jks, but struggled to keep their foot on the gas pedal, conceding momentum to G2 immediately after. The Frenchmen went on to concede but an additional round in the remainder of the map, closing out their map pick with a 16-11 scoreline, made possible thanks to a closing quad kill from team captain, Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon.

The final map, Inferno, kicked off to a three-round lead for Renegades on the offense. G2's first rifle round nearly fell through, but a 2v2 conversion saw the Frenchmen secure their first round on the CT side. While a digit was secured, no long-term follow-up was seen from the squad, as Renegades assumed control of the middle portion of the half, looking at a 6-2 lead, with Liazz contributing by landing a 1v2 clutch in round 7. Only towards the concluding rounds were shox and company managed to claw their way back, evening things out with a 7-8 deficit at half time.

Despite the momentum loss towards the end of the prior half, Renegades reignited their thirst for victory by accruing a consecutive pistol round off the back of a CZ-75 triple kill from Sean "⁠Gratisfaction⁠" Kaiwai. The Australian squad was broken once rifles were seen in the hands of G2, but only temporarily, as the round leaders followed up with consecutive strings of rounds that subsequently meant map point. Due to a inconsistent performance and general struggles on the offense, G2 were unable to come back from their disadvantage, conceding Inferno 9-16.