BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR Closed Qualifier A

Paris Major EU RMR closed qualifiers reach round three

17-2-2023 01:30

Astralis and OG struggled as two of the highest-seeded teams, sitting on a 1-1 record going into day two.

The first day of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European closed qualifier has come to an end as 32 teams, spread across two Swiss groups, played their first couple of best-of-one matches.

Teams that secured a 2-0 record on the first day will challenge for qualification in the next round, looking to secure a best-of-three victory and claim a spot at the upcoming Regional Major Ranking events. On the opposite end of the spectrum, teams with a 0-2 record will have to run the gauntlet, with three BO3 fixtures ahead of them if they are to make the RMR.

The second day of play will also see the resolution of the last BO1 matches as the teams with a 1-1 record battle each other ahead of their BO3 fixtures.

degster struggled to take nexa's mantle in the wake of the IGL's absence

The qualifiers saw very few notable upsets on the first day, with the only high-profile case being provided by Astralis as the Danish squad narrowly fell to LDLC 14-16 on Inferno. Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's men failed to qualify for a Major for the first time in the previous RMR, and this poor start to the closed qualifier must have rang alarm bells in the Danes' heads. Fortunately for Danish fans, Astralis quickly bounced back with a swift 16-2 victory over PGE Turow to secure a 1-1 record going into the second day.

Astralis suffer early loss in RMR closed qualifier

9INE carried their recent online form into this group and defeated Mixfits and Eternal Fire to claim a 2-0 record alongside G2, Into the Breach, and Tricked. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage were keen to not repeat their mistakes from the Road to Rio RMR and powered their squad to a flawless finish on the first day. Meanwhile, Copenhagen Flames, PGE Turow, IKLA, and B8 sit at the bottom of the standings with two losses and just one BO3 away from elimination.

Group Swiss

2W - 0L

9INE

Into the Breach

Tricked

1W - 1L

Astralis

Eternal Fire

SAW

0W - 2L

The second qualifier hosted OG as they struggled to play to their potential without Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković at the team's helm. The Serbian skipper announced on Wednesday that he would not play in the qualifiers due to personal reasons and that Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen would step in as the fifth while Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov took over the leadership.

OG barely made it past JANO with a 19-17 scoreline, before being knocked down to the 1-1 club by HEET as the European mix failed to perform without their talismanic captain.

nexa steps back from OG's active lineup temporarily

HEET headline the teams with a 2-0 record in the second qualifier as the only French steam with a flawless record across the two Swiss groups, sharing the stage with Apeks, GamerLegion, and 500. The Bulgarian squad edged out Monte 19-17 in their first match on Nuke to kickstart their campaign in the online event.

FORZE were one of the surprises of the 0-2 pool following consecutive losses to HEET and JANO, which put them level with ECSTATIC, EYEBALLERS, and HONORIS at the bottom of the table.

Group Swiss

2W - 0L

HEET

Apeks

500

GamerLegion

1W - 1L

0W - 2L

The matches for the second day of qualifiers look as follows:

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR Closed Qualifier A
17/02/2023	Viperio 17:00 Astralis	Match
17/02/2023	LDLC 17:00 1win	Match
17/02/2023	SAW 17:00 Mixfits	Match
17/02/2023	9INE 19:00 Into the Breach	Match
17/02/2023	Tricked 19:00 G2	Match
17/02/2023	HAVU 21:30 Eternal Fire	Match
17/02/2023	IKLA 22:30 B8	Match
17/02/2023	PGE Turow 22:30 Copenhagen Flames	Match

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR Closed Qualifier B
17/02/2023	OG 18:00 Anonymo	Match
17/02/2023	Aurora 18:00 JANO	Match
17/02/2023	Monte 18:00 iNation	Match
17/02/2023	Falcons 18:00 Illuminar	Match
17/02/2023	GamerLegion 19:00 HEET	Match
17/02/2023	Apeks 19:00 500	Match
17/02/2023	FORZE 22:30 ECSTATIC	Match
17/02/2023	EYEBALLERS 22:30 HONORIS	Match