BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR AEU RMR A Day 2: As it happened
This was a live updated post with the latest happenings from the second day of the European Major qualifiers.
Tomorrow's matchups
20:23 - NER0
Major semi-final in Rio — elimination game at the Paris RMR. Virtus.pro and MOUZ will face off tomorrow to keep their hopes alive.
2-1 record
FaZe - 
Bad News Eagles
Falcons - GamerLegion
B8 - 
Into the Breach
1-2 record
1win - OG Apeks - Sprout Virtus.pro - MOUZ
mezii on stream
20:18 - NER0
fnatic have qualified for the Major after beating Viperio, 1win, and B8; a run that has raised some eyebrows in the community. William "mezii" Merriman, though, could not care less:
Top five players after day two
20:16 - NER0
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.Dorian "xertioN" Berman: 1.24
Close of play
20:14 - NER0
Watch: KRIMZ celebrates making yet another Major
20:12 - NER0
fnatic join NAVI at the Major
20:07 - NER0
fnatic edge out B8 to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
  B8 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 - 54 | -2 | 75.4 | 67.5% | 1.04 | |
| 58 - 56 | +2 | 80.8 | 66.2% | 1.02 | |
| 50 - 55 | -5 | 66.6 | 71.2% | 1.00 | |
| 54 - 63 | -9 | 73.3 | 65.0% | 0.94 | |
| 37 - 59 | -22 | 55.5 | 66.2% | 0.75 |
 fnatic |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 - 50 | +21 | 86.5 | 75.0% | 1.27 | |
| 61 - 48 | +13 | 85.2 | 81.2% | 1.23 | |
| 49 - 49 | 0 | 83.9 | 72.5% | 1.10 | |
| 50 - 54 | -4 | 68.8 | 66.2% | 1.03 | |
| 51 - 51 | 0 | 66.0 | 76.2% | 1.02 |
Eyes turn to B8 and fnatic
19:43 - NER0
fnatic are starting to take control of Ancient against B8, winning five in a row to lead 11-9.
An early look at tomorrow's match ups
19:41 - NER0
Natus Vincere's victory has confirmed two spicy match-ups for tomorrow:
Virtus.pro vs MOUZ (1-2) FaZe vs Bad News Eagles (2-1)
npl on his boost in form
19:32 - NER0
He finishes the RMR with a 1.34 rating; his 2023 average before this event was 0.92.
NAVI qualify for Paris
19:30 - NER0
Natus Vincere are the first team to qualify for the final CS:GO Major.
NAVI 12-10 FaZe
19:23 - NER0
b1t wins a quick 1on2 to break FaZe's money and restore Natus Vincere's lead.
Perfecto deags four
19:09 - NER0
Even against pistols FaZe cannot rest — but they have grinded their way back into the game with seven in a row to make it 8-7 at the half.
NAVI get off on the right foot on Ancient
18:58 - NER0
Like on Inferno Natus Vincere have stormed into a 7-1 lead on Ancient. Finn "karrigan" Andersen said the vibe would be different in a game that was "not do or die" and so it has proved thus far.
B8 take us to Ancient
18:53 - NER0
A FAMAS misbuy on a full eco did not prevent B8 sweeping Nuke home against fnatic
npl's strong form continues
18:29 - NER0
npl dominated FaZe on Inferno, making him the highest-rated player at the event so far with a 1.42 average rating.
Job half done for NAVI
18:25 - NER0
Natus Vincere take Inferno 16-7, with their pick of Ancient next. Maybe we won't need Vertigo after all...
B8 start well on Nuke
18:19 - NER0
Natus Vincere have extended their lead to 14-6, with B8 in the lead too on the T side of Nuke over fnatic.
Enough said
18:07 - NER0
The half ends 12-3 in NAVI's favour
18:07 - NER0
Natus Vincere did not let go either, carrying their form all half to end it with the win in sight.
NAVI on fire
17:50 - NER0
Natus Vincere are in the flow state right now; they have FaZe down 7-1 on their own pick, and using a second timeout already.
npl has continued his strong RMR form, and is currently 11-3 in K-D.
fnatic win their map pick
17:45 - NER0
fnatic have toppled B8 by 16 to 8 on Vertigo, with Nuke — another strong map for the Europeans — next up.
NAVI's history on Vertigo
17:43 - NER0
Outside of officials, Natus Vincere have flirted with Vertigo, however. They even played it against FaZe, at the MR12 Gamers Without Borders 2020.
Before Vertigo this time round they will have to do battle on Ancient and Inferno
Well well well...
17:35 - NER0
FaZe and Natus Vincere have both spoken a big game regarding their capabilities on their usual permaban of Vertigo.
This time, though, they will have to walk the walk; neither team banned it leaving it as a possible decider.
FaZe haven't played the map since they lost to Bad News Eagles in overtime on that fateful day in Rio.
Natus Vincere have played it just once in an official in their entire history, against HEROIC in 2019.
karrigan optimistic ahead of NAVI bout
17:28 - NER0
OG send SAW home
17:18 - NER0
There was a comeback attempt, but a few good A hits at the death got OG over the line. SAW are eliminated.
Another clutch for fnatic!
17:16 - NER0
Comeback?
17:06 - NER0
OG had a 13-4 lead just a few minutes ago, but SAW have put together a string of five rounds to narrow the gap.
KRIMZ crushes B8 in a 1on4
17:06 - NER0
The next BO3 to start will be fnatic against B8, with a Legends spot on offer.
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR A | ||
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
1:2 |
Match |
OG in the ascendancy on Inferno
16:41 - NER0
After a poor Overpass, OG have recovered nicely to take an early 8-2 lead on Inferno. SAW had broken their economy, but that mattered for nought as Abdul "degster" Gasanov dealt 486 damage with his saved AWP.
Sprout survive — for now
16:36 - NER0
The first team sent home is Viperio, who struggled after a strong initial showing against fnatic.
It was convincing in the end for Sprout, keeping the Brits to single digits on their map pick and the decider.
Sprout extend their lead
16:27 - NER0
Aaron "AZR" Ward has reached 20 kills as Sprout win their fifth round in a row to take a 14-6 lead.
STYKO: "I am already proud of the team"
16:14 - NER0
Despite two tight losses against FaZe and Bad News Eagles Martin "STYKO" Styk still took the time to give HLTV.org an interview, and the Slovakian has not lost hope:
SAW pick up Overpass
16:08 - NER0
After losing their pick of Vertigo, SAW bounce back by taking Overpass 16-7. Inferno will decide the series.
Meanwhile, Viperio are struggling on Anubis as Sprout continue to show signs of life, down 7-3.
Devilwalk on BNE's status as Major specialists
15:54 - NER0
Sprout and Viperio debut Anubis
15:47 - NER0
Nuke and Anubis have not been played as of yet, but that changes here for Anubis.
At the end of it, one of Sprout or Viperio will be eliminated.
Sprout tie it up
15:35 - NER0
Sprout defeat Viperio on Ancient, but a muted celebration from their camp tells the story: They're not done yet.
Sprout bounce back
15:16 - NER0
Sprout have looked, for the first time this RMR, more like themselves on Ancient. They lead 13-4 over Viperio
Clip: NBK- throws in some trash talk
15:03 - NER0
MOUZ removed Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt after just 25 maps in March 2022 — but he has got some revenge with a 16:9 win here at the RMR.
OG take SAW's map pick
14:51 - NER0
OG found life easier on Vertigo than Sprout, with a 90 ADR performance from Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen powering them home 16-11. Overpass will follow.
launx pre-game on stream: "We got humbled"
14:43 - NER0
Laurențiu "lauNX" Țârlea admitted Sprout under-estimated Into the Breach yesterday — are they doing the same to Viperio today?
Ancient is underway now, as Sprout look to prove that is not the case.
"After [losing to] Into the Breach we had a rough talk. Our coach and analyst said "you need to wake up, you cannot let this happen. This is the most important tournament of the whole year."
"The main problem against ITB was that we went into it with the mentality that we were better than them and they punished us completely so props to them. We got humbled."
Viperio convert their map pick of Vertigo
14:29 - NER0
Sprout's struggles have turned from bad to worse, mustering just seven rounds against Viperio on map one.
They must win Ancient to keep their Major hopes alive.
Stat: kennyS overtakes GuardiaN on all time LAN AWP kills
14:28 - NER0
With that win over MOUZ Kenny "kennyS" Schrub has overtaken Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács as the player with the most AWP kills on LAN in CS:GO history.
With CS2 around the corner, the order of this top five is unlikely to change:
1.
2.Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács: 9204
3.Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo: 8172
4.
5.Aleksi "allu" Jalli: 6231
Twitter debate: Seeding
14:17 - NER0
A debate is afoot on Twitter around the seeding of the RMRs.
fnatic's good performance in Rio means they are the highest seed among the 2-0 teams, meaning they have drawn B8 as the lowest-seeded team. The consequence of this is that FaZe have to play Natus Vincere in the other game.
Where do you stand on this? How would you seed the RMRs?
Slow starts from the favorites in the 0-2 games
14:05 - NER0
Viperio have got off to a good start on their pick of Vertigo, leading Sprout 8-2 right now.
SAW and OG are also starting on Vertigo, where the Portugese men have already won six rounds.
Stats: Falcons dismantle MOUZ
14:00 - NER0
MOUZ weren't just defeated by Falcons, they were destroyed. They only won two gun rounds all game, and that was despite gaining the first kill on 16 occasions.
The elimination games kick off
14:00 - NER0
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR A | ||
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
2:1 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
1:2 |
Match |
Watch: ITB overcome VP
13:54 - NER0
MOUZ get bodyy'd on Vertigo
13:44 - Professeur
HLTV jinx giveth, HLTV jinx taketh
13:40 - NER0
Into the Breach have done it! Virtus.pro looked to have won back the momentum, and were in a position they are so used to converting to wins.
Into the Breach had other ideas, however: Virtus.pro and MOUZ are both now one loss away from having to watch the Paris Major from home.
Falcons upset MOUZ
13:35 - Professeur
Incredible scenes as the Frenchmen get one win away from the Major on home soil!
MOUZ still in trouble
13:23 - NER0
Falcons, despite losing both pistols, are putting some clear air between them and MOUZ with a 13-8 lead. Should MOUZ lose here they will be one loss away from elimination.
VP tie it up
13:16 - NER0
Since our post — sorry to everyone from the UK — Virtus.pro have won eight rounds in a row. The score is now 11-10, and all the momentum has shifted towards the Russians.
Falcons also impressing
13:07 - NER0
Into the Breach's lead has shrunk to three rounds at 10-7, with fellow underdogs Falcons going one better with a 9-5 lead after winning five rounds in a row.
It's happening?
12:56 - NER0
Into the Breach exceeded expectations yesterday, playing Natus Vincere close and beating Sprout, and they have turned up with the same energy today.
The Brits are currently 10-3 up on the T side of Mirage against Virtus.pro, yesterday's hero CYPHER posting 15 kills in 13 rounds.
The question now becomes one of whether they can close it out against Virtus.pro, a team with a knack for breaking hearts.
Meanwhile on the other side of the comeback...
12:54 - NER0
siuhy: "It's been a long time since I won a game like that"
12:53 - NER0
We caught up with Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek after GamerLegion pulled off the comeback against 1win
"It's been a long time since I won a game like that, 15-12 I think it was? We came back, acoR won an insane clutch 1v2 which brought us back into the game.
"The CT side was really hard for us because we were getting reset every time, we had no money to have full utility every round, it was very difficult to play. After that round acoR won it was really nice to calm down a little bit with the economy."
And when asked about Mihai "iM" Ivan — who has a 1.23 rating at the RMR so far — and his strong start to 2023, here is what he had to say:
"I think he's improved a lot and become a much more consistent player. When I came into the team I could see a lot of potential; he was very good, talented, but he was just missing that consistency bit. Right now I feel like he's found it."
Watch: GamerLegion match BNE on the decibel meter
12:46 - NER0
The next set of games go live
12:41 - NER0
NBK- faces MOUZ for the first time since his departure from the team in March 2022
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR A | ||
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:13 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:8 |
Match |
Watch: BNE erupt in celebration of their second win
12:29 - Striker
Heartbreak for 1WIN and Apeks
12:25 - Striker
Bad News Eagles completed the comeback from a rough first half against Apeks to win the match in overtime. GamerLegion fended off 1win in another overtime fixture in the meantime despite facing three match points from the Russian squad.
The two winners are now 2-1 and one series win away from the Paris Major.
Comebacks on both streams
11:48 - NER0
After those great starts from GamerLegion and Apeks it's Bad News Eagles and 1win who have taken the lead as we enter crunch time.
GamerLegion 9-10 1win Apeks 10-11 Bad News Eagles
GamerLegion and BNE are enjoying themselves
11:34 - NER0
Before the match started, GamerLegion and Bad News Eagles made the countdown just that little bit more exciting with some impromptu atmosphere.
In game, though, GamerLegion have slumped from 6-2 up to 7-8 down against 1win.
International squads quicker out the gates
11:21 - NER0
GamerLegion 6-2 1win Apeks 8-2 Bad News Eagles
Check out this eco win from GamerLegion:
The first BO1s get underway
11:09 - NER0
We're up and running, with Apeks facing Bad News Eagles on Inferno and 1win against the aforementioned GamerLegion on Vertigo
acoR: "we came back really strong"
10:50 - NER0
GamerLegion struggled initially in Copenhagen in a loss to Apeks, but a win against OG means they are still very much in contention to qualify. Next up for the Europeans is a bout with 1win in ten minutes time.
Run of play
10:45 - NER0
Unlike at the Asian and American RMRs the European edition has run to schedule so far, meaning we are entering the third round of matches.
First up are the four 1-1 best-of-ones, before we eliminate two of SAW, OG, Sprout and Viperio.
Then we get into the headline affair: FaZe vs Natus Vincere for a spot at the Major, pencilled in for 17:45 . fnatic will face the revelation of Group A so far in the form of B8 with the same prize on the line.
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR A | ||
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:19 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:19 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:13 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
16:8 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
2:1 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
1:2 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
1:2 |
Match |
| 07/04/2023 |
Finished
0:2 |
Match |
What happened on day one?
10:43 - NER0
The big story of day one was the performance of Ukrainian side B8. Ranked 42nd in our world ranking, Artem "r1nkle" Moroz and company first took down MOUZ before taking an even bigger scalp of Virtus.pro later on in the day.
The other shock was in the performances of the UK sides, Into the Breach and Viperio. Viperio took fnatic to double overtime, while on the other stream Into the Breach recovered from 12-4 down to take Natus Vincere into double overtime themselves.
Into the Breach consolidated that performance later on, taking down a hapless Sprout who, along with OG, were the biggest disappointments of day one.
Some pre-match reading
10:38 - NER0
Recap
Day one recap Day one live post (EU)
Interviews
acoR: "we need to jump on [this opportunity]" r1nkle: "We're feeling better than we were last RMR" kennyS: "I feel like I never left"
arTisT: " We're here to have a good time"
Previews Three things to know about each team in Europe A Boombl4's bid to write a new chapter
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad
Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Jakub 'kuben' Gurczyński Ladislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács
Helvijs 'broky' Saukants
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Omar 'arki' Chakkor
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Aleksei 'Qikert' Golubev
Rigon 'rigoN' Gashi
Adam 'NEOFRAG' Zouhar
Nicolas 'Keoz' Dgus
Jon 'JDC' de Castro
Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás
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