MOUZ inch past Legacy into Austin Major playoffs

The Brazilian side that wasn't even supposed to be at the Major have seen their fairytale run ended just shy of playoffs.

MOUZ have booked their spot in the playoffs at BLAST.tv Austin Major thanks to 2-1 victory over Legacy, ending the Brazilians' epic run that began by replacing BESTIA in Stage 1 of the competition due to visa issues.

Legacy could have extended their campaign as they found themselves in pole position to win both of the latter two maps in this series, but waned as the pressure mounted, overplaying their hand in advantaged scenarios and missing easy kills.

The series kicked off on Ancient and from the outset MOUZ couldn't handle the confident and aggressive CT side of Legacy, with the Brazilians regularly finding opening kills via pushes in every single area of the map.

MOUZ had chances to make the map closer but they lost twice at key junctures to low buys, after winning each pistol, and slipped to a meek defeat on their own pick.

Jimpphat finishes 2v4 with 1v2 clutch

Inferno saw MOUZ in more combative form, earning a tied CT half despite Legacy's typically slick manipulation of rotations and strong executes, in no small part thanks to some key multi-kills by Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo.

Legacy pulled ahead on their own CT half thanks to a pistol win and some convincing site holds, before a number of 4v5 round wins hauled MOUZ back into contention. Legacy began to overplay their hand and miss straightforward frags in key situations, with the pressure mounting, which allowed MOUZ to tie up the series.

n1ssim blunders a round-winning flank

Nuke began with Legacy bringing back their aggressive CT antics, typified by no one more than Eduardo "⁠dumau⁠" Wolkmer, as they repeatedly broke MOUZ's attacks apart before they could get started. MOUZ couldn't get anything going beyond a strong individual round by Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi, and slipped to a heavy 3-9 deficit.

MOUZ opened up their own CT side with a pistol win and finally properly converted, setting the Europeans up to work their way back into the map. Work their way back they did, getting aggressive themselves and taking advantage of Legacy blunders as the Brazilians, once again, crumbled under the pressure. Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás in particular woke up after a slow series up to now, and helped MOUZ

Legacy's Cinderella story comes to an end

Legacy can be immensely proud of what they achieved in Austin, completing an underdog run all the way from Stage 1 to the brink of the playoffs. Their individuals stepped up immensely, their Inferno was a weapon to be reckoned with, and the aggressive brand of CS they played was a joy to watch.

Unfortunately for the Brazilians, their level slipped as Inferno and Nuke reached crunch time. They began to overplay rounds, clearly keen to end the series, and started to whiff easy shots as the realization dawned that they were so close to the finish line.

MOUZ limp into the playoffs

Thus far in Austin, MOUZ have played fairly poorly. Spinx admitted in a pre-match interview on stream that MOUZ haven't got anywhere near their top level, and that very much continued in this series.

MOUZ have endured a number of toothless T sides, have seen their individuals go missing in multiple maps, and in general seem a shadow of the team that was among the best in the world across the year thus far.

torzsi and Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman agreed with the analyst desk that it was surprising that MOUZ have made it into the playoffs considering their level at this Major thus far, saying they have played "like a sack of potatoes." It is doubtful that MOUZ will go any further if they don't step up their game.

More highlights from Legacy vs. MOUZ

• dumau breaks MOUZ with ballsy Lobby push

• Spinx 4K stops the rot for MOUZ

• saadzin's Scout destroys MOUZ with three wallbangs

• n1ssim bides his time for stylish 3K