fnatic see Major hopes crushed in Group D

A loss against Fiend and FaZe’s victory over DBL PONEY have consigned fnatic to watching the Stockholm Major from the sidelines.

fnatic saw their already fading hopes of qualifying for the Major extinguished after a disappointing loss to Fiend as other results went against them.

This leaves fnatic unable to make playoffs, and unable to secure a favourable tiebreaker for third in the group, even if they win their remaining games. After a disappointing showing at this event it will be back to the drawing board for Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin and co.

With their hard-fought 16-14 victory over SKADE, Ninjas in Pyjamas are guaranteed a top three spot in the group, which means that at the very least they will play for points in the 9th-11th decider in the unlikely scenario that they don't make it to playoffs.

Considering the RMR points they already have to their name, the only way they could fail to qualify for the Major would be to lose out their remaining games, both in the group and in the 9-12th decider bracket, and have the rest of the IEM Fall standings shake out against them. For all intents and purposes, Ninjas in Pyjamas have all but made it to Stockholm but do still have to confirm their place and the opportunity to play for Legends status.

The battle for playoff berth began to heat up with today’s result between FaZe and DBL PONEY, the Frenchmen losing a close Inferno 16-13 largely due to some impressive clutching from their opposition. Securing playoffs would be a huge step toward Major qualification for either team.

This puts both squads at 2-1 in the group, however FaZe hold a slight advantage going into the last two days of group play due to their easier schedule; DBL PONEY still have Ninjas in Pyjamas to play, whereas FaZe have the two underdogs in the group, SKADE and Fiend.