One last time boys. One last story. One last fairytale. Beautiful, isn’t it?

The desk pre-game called Passion UA’s 2-2 game vs Astralis a game between good and evil, and we tend to agree. Astralis were a team that most people always disliked even before it was cool to dislike them. Or maybe that’s just us.

You know when you see an influencer, and you hate them even though there’s no reason to, and then it turns out that your instincts were right and they actually sucked the whole time?

That’s how we feel about Astralis. And Robbie Williams. Though we haven’t been proven right on that one just yet, we will be.

Passion UA went 2-0, but losses to BIG and then HEROIC in three-mappers led to them needing a win to qualify, and if you weren’t already on their side, they were up against Astralis. The whole world wanted them to win.

It was by no means dominant, but they won 2-0, meaning Astralis missed their fourth Major in a row, Passion UA made their first, and good, once more, won out over evil.

And then the party began.

For us, though, it was bittersweet. Yes, it’s a beautiful moment, seeing Astralis lo- erm, seeing a bunch of new players make the Major, their dreams realised and their lives changed, but it might be the last time we get anything like this.

Next year, the RMRs go away; they’ve already done away with the open qualifiers, and now the whole Major will be invite only, which to us defeats the original purpose of the Major. It has always been an open tournament, where you and four friends could rock up and go as far as you can.

Careers have been built on Major qualifications. Boombl4, Major winner, was part of QBF’s unlikely run through qualification. chopper and mir from that famous Vega Squadron team. volt and Cypher have ITB’s miracle run to thank for their advancements.

We wouldn’t have stories like Bad News Eagles, Into The Breach, QBF. We wouldn’t have chances for unknown talent, for life-changing stories or for the chaos that the Major cycle brings, and we think that’s a shame.

Passion UA are maybe the last great Major qualification underdog story.

On the flipside, DRILLAS won’t be getting any invites. Swings and roundabouts.