9INE secure final spot at Gamers8

The Polish side will compete at the tournament in Saudi Arabia after reigning supreme in the second European open qualifier.

Goofy had a 1.94 rating versus SAW on the Anubis decider

9INE have earned a place at Gamers8 — a $1 million tournament set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on August 16-20 — after marching to a first-place finish in the second European open qualifier.

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fnatic qualify for Gamers8 2023

Wiktor "⁠mynio⁠" Kruk and company's victory subsequently rounds out the team list for the Saudi competition, with the Poles joining the likes of HEROIC and Vitality, the top-two sides in the world at present, and fnatic, whose previous William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman-led roster clinched victory in the inaugural European open qualifier to earn their place.

9INE had a relatively laborious path en route to a spot in the $1 million event, picking up hard-fought wins over Kristjan "⁠fejtZ⁠" Allsaar's sYnck and the new-look Spirit on day one of the qualifier before narrowly moving past Aurora and 1win on day two to set up a do-or-die fixture versus SAW.

Once there, the hotly-contested nature of the qualifier continued, 9INE initially getting off to a good start with a win on Ancient (16-10) before SAW answered in kind on Vertigo (16-8). In the end, a trip to Anubis was needed to separate the two squads, with the Polish outfit accruing a 10-5 lead at the side swap before closing things out a short time later, 16-8.

9INE have added yet another tier-one LAN to their schedule with their first-place finish in the qualifier. On top of Gamers8, the Poles have the IEM Cologne Play-in, the Hussar Cup, and a campaign through ESL Pro League Season 18's Group D on their calendar between now and late September.

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9INE invited to Hussar Cup

On the flip side, a number of high-profile teams faltered in the second open qualifier. Astralis, who were showing off their new-look roster, bowed out in the RO16 and Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to earn their place in Riyadh following an overtime defeat to SAW in the qualifier's quarter-final stage.

Other top squads even failed to make it to the second day of competition altogether. MOUZ, who welcomed back Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek and promoted Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo over the off-season, were sent home in the third round following a 6-16 hounding by Robin "⁠robiin⁠" Sjögren's 1ADL side, whilst Bad News Eagles crashed out in round two after a 10-16 affair against Sashi.

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Jimpphat completes MOUZ roster

The complete Gamers8 team list is as follows:

HEROIC
FaZe
ENCE
GamerLegion
Liquid
FURIA
9INE
Falcons

Vitality
G2
Cloud9
Apeks
Virtus.pro
fnatic
MIBR
Natus Vincere