Players through to PGL Major Legends stage, ASG knock out Sangal

The Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov-led squad emerge victorious after a nail-biting three-map series over Astralis to earn a spot at the upcoming Major.

Players are the first team through to the Legends stage of the upcoming PGL Major Antwerp in the Europe Regional Major Ranking B after a three hard-fought maps against Astralis in their spot-deciding series.

Meanwhile, ASG completely dominated their elimination series against Sangal in back-to-back maps as they continue their campaign in the Europe RMR, joining the 1-2 pool and keeping their Major hopes alive.

Astralis started on the back foot in their map pick of Ancient after Players successfully stopped nearly all their attempts to get the bomb down on site early in the game, as nafany's squad took a commanding 6-1 lead. As the half dragged on, Astralis' pushes into site were converted into successful bomb plants, which allowed Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's men to tighten the game up after falling behind early and enter the half only down by one.

The second period saw Astralis in the lead for the first time, playing calculated defense through their excellent utility usage which caused trouble for Players in their attempts to take control of site as five of the first six rounds after the switch went the Danes' way. Players found their groove in a crucial time of the match, winning six out of seven rounds as they were able to fend off Astralis' retakes en route to a 16-13 map victory and 1-0 series advantage.

Dust2, a map Astralis has struggled in recently, was up next. Their fortunes seemed to have changed, however, as the Danish team quickly went up 8-3 as the defenders, once again demonstrating their exceptional teamwork and utility usage. Players were then able to string winning rounds together in the latter part of the first, as they reduced their deficit to 7-8 by halftime. Astralis kicked off the second half in the drivers' seat, plowing through Players' defenses and going up 14-9. Players attempted to claw their way back into the map by securing 12 rounds on the board, however gla1ve's squad were able to wrap up Dust2 16-12 and force a decider on Inferno.

Players came out of the gates swinging on Inferno, taking pistol which set Astralis back on team economy as Timofey "⁠interz⁠" Yakushin powered his team to an early 4-0 lead. A mistimed bomb plant for Players in the fifth allowed Astralis to steal a round, which eventually allowed the Danes to break their opponents' momentum and level the score at 4-4. A crucial 1vs3 clutch from interz forced Astralis into a full-eco and sparked another run for Players, who secured a 7-4 advantage over their Danish rivals. Despite the deficit, Astralis were able to keep it close and trailed by only a single round at the switch.

It was all Players in the early part of the second half as their lockdown defense constantly set Astralis back on economy, which led to the Danes struggling to take control of site and ultimately falter on their T side. The match and series ultimately went the way of Players whose win clinched their spot in the Legends stage of the Major in Belgium.

The opening map of their elimination series saw an extremely one-sided performance by ASG in the first 15 rounds, as Sangal struggled to get anything going their way as the CT side. Amin "⁠sugaR⁠" Azimov's team were able to secure the bomb plant in every single round they won as the attackers, successfully fending off all retakes from Sangal as they cruised to a 13-2 lead. The majority Russian side achieved map point two rounds into the second period, before Sangal began coming back into the game by scoring seven straight. It was too little too late, however, as ASG took the one round they needed to win Inferno, 16-9.

Ancient began as Inferno did, with another convincing lead garnered by ASG on their T side, running over Sangal's defense on their way to a 12-3 score line. A slightly closer second half ensued, however ASG's advantage was too big to overcome as they closed out the series 2-0, knocking out Sangal from the RMR.