We’ve made it to the playoffs of the unofficial warm-up for the Major!

And based on how these teams are playing, some of them might need a few more scrims… cough G2 cough

Starting proceedings with the leftovers from Astana, we’re getting MongolZ vs. Aurora in a quarter-final for the second time in just as many weeks. Aurora somehow made the playoffs despite flying 32 hours straight, direct from Astana, and looking like they were still in airplane-mode for most of the groups.

Credit where it’s due: they’ve likely made more progress than their baggage.

This is the third time we’ll be seeing this match as a quarter-final this year, and each time it's delivered fireworks. That being said, even pretty colours and loud bangs can get a bit stale after a couple of repeats… At some point, you start hoping one of them just wins the whole thing, at least for the sake of variety if nothing else.

GamerLegion are set to make another surprise playoff appearance... this time with a stand-in?

In true NA-event fashion, sl3nd was handed the BESTIA treatment and denied a visa for Dallas. So Ash picked up the phone to his old mate acoR, told him to dig out the jersey, and together they’ve vibed their way through Group A, ironically knocking out the original vibes squad, G2, in the decider.

The third-best Polish team in the world couldn’t get it done in the battle of the stand-ins, despite a MEGA carry from malbs, further fuelling doubts over the direction of one of CS’ former giants.

GamerLegion’s continued run of form post MRQ further reinforces how utterly sh–t the current Major qualifying process is, and it’s a genuine shame we won't be seeing them in Austin. Unfortunately, however, they’ll be playing an admittedly slightly red-faced Falcons fresh off choking a 12–5 lead to MOUZ. Logic dictates the run ends here.

But, with acoR channeling vintage 2023 and ash cooking something questionable, who knows, maybe there’s a MOUZ tribute act loading up as we speak.

We wouldn’t bet on another 5–12 comeback, though.

Speaking of MOUZ, they’ve continued to show that kicking your IGL is ALWAYS the solution to your team's CS woes. They may as well not have played BCG and Liquid, having dispatched of those two in less time than it took ChrisJ to ruin his reputation.

There’s a reasonable argument to be made that MOUZ is the No.2 team in the world right now and are seriously in with a chance at winning the Major.

If any team looks poised to end Vitality’s Prime Astralis-esque streak right now, it would be them, but we’ll have to wait until the finals of Dallas to potentially see that mouth-watering matchup again, as Vitality was able to secure the other semi-finals spot after a minor scare from the The MongolZ.

All in all, bar the appearance of GamerLegion, which we actually did predict on this week's podcast, this is a fairly standard playoff bracket without much upset potential.

With just 12 days to go until the start of the Major, everyone will be looking to show their best and mark themselves as a contender for Counter-Strike's biggest trophy.