NRG invited to replace Rocket at Americas RMR

daps' side had fallen to Rocket in the final round of the closed qualifier to miss out on the RMR.

NRG are headed to Monterrey after Rocket's withdrawal

NRG has been extended an invite to PGL Major Copenhagen Americas RMR to replace Rocket, the tournament organizer has announced.

The news follows in the wake of Damian "⁠EMIYA⁠" Boulware's FACEIT ban for cheating, after which members of Rocket admitted to HLTV and Dust2.us that their coach communicated with them during their RMR closed qualifier matches, something expressly forbidden by Valve in their rulebook for online qualifiers.

Read more

EMIYA banned on FACEIT for cheating; Rocket admit to speaking with coach in RMR qualifier

Rocket member Ahmed "⁠ayy⁠" Mahmoud also stated that, in light of EMIYA's ban, he would not travel to the RMR even if the team was allowed to play as he felt they didn't deserve their spot. On Tuesday, Matthew "⁠nero⁠" Seymour informed Dust2.us that Rocket had sent an email to PGL requesting their invitation to the Major qualifier be rescinded, a somewhat noble gesture as the formal withdrawal ensured no doubt about Rocket's absence and as EMIYA's ban alone would not have disqualified the team from competing in Monterrey.

NRG missed out on the RMR after they were eliminated in the final 2-2 Swiss round of the closed qualifier by Rocket, with a majority of the community presuming the Canadian-majority team would be the successors to the spot in the event of Rocket being replaced.

NRG's candidacy was helped by the fact that other teams that ended the Swiss stage with 2-3 records have since made roster changes and had lower Bucholz scores, but uncertainty surrounded whether Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele's side would simply be given the invite or if PGL and Valve would replace Rocket at all.

PGL has now extended an invite NRG and begun to sort the logistics of the team's travel to Monterrey, Mexico, where the Americas RMR is set to play out from March 1-4 with five spots at PGL Major Copenhagen on offer.

Whether NRG can prosper from the opportunity remains a glaring question, however, as the team has not looked particularly convincing against the sub-top of North American teams in online qualifiers with recent losses to Party Astronauts and timbermen locking NRG out of trips to Australia and Europe.

Read more

Party Astronauts qualify for ESL Challenger Melbourne

The team list for the Americas RMR is now:

Complexity
FURIA
MIBR
Liquid
M80
Imperial
BESTIA
Elevate

Wildcard
Nouns
RED Canids
paiN
NRG
BOSS
Legacy
ODDIK