Despite two consecutive losses in their first two games of the PGL Major, Astralis can still make it to the New Legends stage. To make it happen, the Danes will need to win their next three matches in a row.
How Astralis can still advance to the New Legends stage of the PGL Major
The New Challengers stage is a Swiss style bracket, which requires qualifying teams to win three matches and eliminated teams to lose three matches. Another factor to consider is that any match that would either qualify or eliminate a team is played in a best of three format. What this means for Astralis, who are on the verge of elimination, is that the rest of their matches in the stage will all be bo3.
If Astralis wins their next match on Oct. 27, they will keep their hopes alive. They will be facing GODSENT, who are also 0-2 after their first day of matches. Winning the match will send them straight to day three, where they will face one of the other teams with a 1-2 record. If they keep the comeback alive yet again, the Danes will advance to the fourth and final day of the New Challengers stage where they play one of the surviving 2-2 teams. A win there will cap off a massive recovery for Astralis and lock in their place at the New Legends stage.
🗣 @Xyp9x pic.twitter.com/6VlGcN74ve
— Astralis Counter-Strike (@AstralisCS) October 26, 2021
It’s a long road for Astralis, but the bo3 format means the teams will have to get well and truly outclassed to be eliminated. The longer matches have none of the wiggle room that bo1’s can offer.
Astralis find themselves in this unfavorable position after losing 6-16 in the Danish derby to the Copenhagen Flames on Overpass. Their next game was another 6-16 loss, this time to Entropiq on Dust 2. Astralis, who are the returning major champions from StarLadder Berlin 2019, looked lost in both matches. Keeping their hopes of a major four-peat alive will require a monumental effort and a quick return to championship form.
