If anyone says they would’ve guessed the top two teams in the Legends stage of the major, I’m convinced they picked using either a d20 or they can see the future because really, no one would’ve predicted this to be where we were at.
The top sixteen teams have been whittled down, with Team Liquid and BNE being eliminated while Spirit and NaVi advanced 3-0 with wins in the 2-0 round; Spirit beat the Copenhagen Flames, who incredibly were 2-0, and NaVi took down Ninjas in Pajamas.
Spirit advancing to 3-0 was one of the most surprising events in recent Major history. While they’ve looked good throughout the tournament, it was still a huge surprise to see them go through in such a dominating fashion.
degster was especially impressive in the games against the Flames, going positive in all three games including their 16-10 loss on Vertigo.
Navi's success was less surprising given they’re the defending champions, but a difficult set of draws required wins over G2, BIG, and Ninjas in Pajamas in order to secure the 3-0. G2 and BIG are both 1-2 after a series of close games, while NIP fell to 2-1 after their loss to NaVi and will play to advance against Furia next.
Navi was bolstered by B1t, whose breakout performance at the last major was probably one of the best rookie performances of all time at a major. Now, he is sitting atop the Legends stage in terms of his rating, a ridiculous 1.43 after five maps. S1mple and Perfecto, both with 1.22s, were also instrumental in ensuring that NaVi would make it to the top eight without too many struggles.
The two CIS rosters will be joined by another six in the coming days, but for now they can rest content that they don’t have to play any more games until Thursday at the earliest.
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