Apeks make it to the Paris Major; B8 sent to last chance qualifier

9-4-2023 17:40

The European squad won back-to-back series to secure their BLAST.tv Paris Major berth.

Apeks have beaten the odds to secure a Challengers spot at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, defeating B8 on Vertigo (25-23) and Anubis (16-7) to get the job done. Apeks' most experienced player in the Major circuit, Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad, stepped up when they needed him most as the Norwegian top-fragged on both maps to help secure victory.

B8 still have one more shot at making it to Paris as their 2-3 record means they head to the last chance qualifier, which takes place April 14-15.

BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR ABest of 3

Apeks

Matchpage

9th April 2023

Vertigo

Anubis

Apeks beat GamerLegion, Sprout, and B8 to qualify

There is no doubt that Apeks have come a long way since withdrawing their team from ESEA Advanced in September 2022 amidst a torrid run of form. A relatively high-profile roster had been put together with the addition of Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon, however the team flopped online and at events like Fragadelphia, leading to a reassessment of their options. Eventually the squad settled on Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski as their fifth, and now they are seeing the fruits of the changes.

Apeks withdraw from ESEA Advanced: "We need time to reflect and evaluate"

Some will raise their eyebrows at the generous schedule Apeks had to work through to qualify for the Major, all three of their wins came against teams outside the top 30, but that will matter little to the squad as they gear up for their appearance in Paris. They will need to harness the experience of their two veterans, Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk and jkaem, to succeed, both of whom are returning to Majors after a period of absence. The former last appeared at the FACEIT Major 2018, the latter the StarLadder Major Berlin 2019.

As for B8, they have built themselves a reputation over the last two RMRs as a young team full of talent and potential. They have now racked up best-of-one wins over the likes of fnatic, MOUZ and Virtus.pro over the two events, and despite their loss today against Apeks they will have the chance to complete an unlikely underdog run in the last chance qualifier. It will be a tall task, only one spot will be on offer and FaZe will be in attendance, but B8 can already be proud of their showing.

Group Swiss

3W - 0L