G2 qualify for PGL Major Antwerp; Spirit see off Endpoint

Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen's side make it through to the Major after overcoming Astralis in a hard-fought three-map series.

G2 have punched their ticket to PGL Major Antwerp after coming out on top of a match against Astralis in the 2-1 Swiss stage pool in Bucharest, claiming a decisive win on Dust2 before recovering from an Ancient loss on Vertigo, snagging victory in overtime to edge out the series victory.

Meanwhile, Spirit saw to the elimination of Endpoint, claiming a 2-0 series victory to keep themselves in contention for one of the final Major spots heading into the last day of the EU RMR, where they will take on Anonymo.

For G2, the victory means that they are guaranteed a spot in the Challengers Stage with a 3-1 record, joining ENCE and Ninjas in Pyjamas who also advanced on Saturday. Due to G2's Bucholz seeding though, an opportunity to play in the third place decider match for the final Legends spot looks extremely unlikely, with only one possible scenario allowing them to play in the match: Astralis, Bad News Eagles, and Anonymo would all need to win their final matches on Sunday. On the opposing end, Ninjas in Pyjamas are guaranteed a spot in the decider match, with ENCE looking like their most likely opponent if just one of the above results goes the other way.

The series between G2 and Astralis got underway on Dust2, with Aleksib's side taking an early 6-3 lead before Astralis began to claw back. The Danish team closed the deficit and tied up the scoreline toward the end of the half, 7-7, but a 1vs3 Scout clutch from Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov helped G2 to edge out a narrow lead as the sides swapped over. Astralis briefly pulled ahead following the flip with three rounds, but once guns were in hand, G2 won eight rounds straight to bring the map to a swift end thanks in part to a strong individual showing from Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač.

Ancient was a one-sided affair from start to finish as G2 were left on the back foot, unable to mount much of a defense at all as Astralis put on a masterclass on the attacking side of the infamously CT-leaning map. It was an immense 12-3 lead that Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's men sat upon by the end of the first half, one that proved too much of a deficit to overcome in the second half for G2 as Astralis tied up the series after closing out the map in short order.

The Vertigo decider was a much closer affair, and one that began with Astralis maintaining firm footing thanks to a strong CT start. An 8-2 lead for the Danes began to menacing, reminisce of Ancient, but unlike the previous map G2 managed to stabilize and recover towards the latter portion of the half, securing the final five rounds to keep the deficit to a minimum heading into the break.

A pistol win for Astralis was swiftly responded to by Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug and m0NESY, who combined to grab G2 a forcebuy victory as the European combine pushed up to a 11-9 scoreline. Momentum turned the other way though as Astralis won five in a row, sitting just shy of match point, but multi-kill rounds from G2 members put a halt to that streak, a key quad kill from Aleksib tying the scoreline before they claimed match point. Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen refused to concede the series though, stepping up massively for Astralis as he helped them force overtime, but there it was G2 who reigned supreme, winning three in a row before overcoming additional multi-kill rounds from Farlig to close out the map.

Spirit got off to a hot start against Endpoint, winning three in a row to kick off Dust2 before Max "⁠MiGHTYMAX⁠" Heath's side won five in response. However, from there onward, control was firmly in the favor of the Russian side as they cruised to a 9-6 lead at halftime before maintaining momentum into the second half, conceding just two more rounds before closing out the map firmly in their favor.

Vertigo saw much more narrow margins, an early 3-0 lead for Spirit quickly slipping away as Endpoint put up a solid defense, winning eight rounds in a row. Again though, Spirit were unwavering in the latter moments of the map, making up for a 6-9 deficit as they kept up the pressure in the second half, putting up a solid defense of their own. Even with Endpoint eventually nearing match point at 14-12, Spirit were unrelenting, tightening up their defenses to win four final rounds and avoid overtime, snagging the victory in regulation to close out the series.