After a 2-1 match win over FaZe Clan, Virtus.pro secured their spot in the PGL Major playoffs. For FaZe, their major ends here in the Legends stage.
VP lost their map pick of Inferno 13-16. The CIS squad couldn’t deal with FaZe’s young AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants, who found 29 kills, 92.7 ADR and a 1.47 rating. FaZe’s selection was Ancient, their most picked map at the major so far. The game was close the whole way through. Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis continued his strong form from the Challengers stage, helping to propel VP towards a surprising upset. The final score was 16-14 in favor of VP. Map 3 was Overpass, which went 16-11 for VP.
VP battled their way through the Challengers stage to achieve Legends status. VP beat Team Vitality before losing to Natus Vincere and Gambit Esports. Their first elimination match was MOUZ, a tense back-and-forth that ended 2-1 for VP. Winning Ancient in their best-of-three match broke FaZe’s back, with Overpass going to the CIS squad with only a few hiccups.
Prior to the start of the PGL Major, VP made a last minute swap to their roster when they brought in Evgeniy “FL1T” Lebedev from forZe to replace Sanjar “SANJI” Kuliev. They qualified with SANJI at IEM Fall where they finished in fourth.
Like VP, FaZe went through the Challengers stage to reach the next leg of the competition. They finished the Swiss-style Legends stage bracket with a 3-2 record. They beat Evil Geniuses before losing to G2 Esports and Copenhagen Flames in best-of-ones. Their first elimination best-of-three was against Team Liquid, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken’s former team. FaZe came out on top 2-0, setting them up for their final match against VP. With their loss to VP, they are now eliminated from the PGL Major.
PGL Major Champions stage
VP are the seventh team from the Legends stage to qualify for the playoffs. They join Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, G2 Esports, Gambit Esports, FURIA Esports and Heroic as the teams that have qualified so far. They will be joined by one more team; the winner of Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Copenhagen Flames.
The Champions stage of the PGL major will begin on Nov. 4 with the quarterfinals. The final will then take place on Nov. 7. The playoffs will take place in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden with an in-person crowd present.
