Outsiders and Astralis sneak into the PGL Major Antwerp 2-1 bracket after two close games

As the first major of the year unfolds, we’ve seen some favorite teams completely stomp their enemies, while others have actually struggled to secure seemingly easy wins. On the opening day of the event, we saw Europe dismantle North America as G2 Esports and Team Vitality claimed the two first victories in the EU vs NA matchups. 

We saw North America struggle in their following matches, where Complexity Gaming almost took a loss against APAC representative IHC Esports. Later we saw Team Liquid drop their game against the Brazilian team Imperial Esports in a very disappointing manner. This shows that North America won’t have an easy time and we might see them get knocked out of the event early on. 

Now looking at the second day of the major, we had some very close matches in the round 3 mid bracket. Team Spirit would face the Turkish team Eternal Fire in dust2, and although everyone was expecting Team Spirit to put up a masterclass, the game was too close for their comfort. Ultimately Team Spirit finished the game with a 16-10 score, advancing into the 2-1 bracket.

Their fellow European team Astralis had to play against one of the strongest Brazilian teams at the event, MIBR. Astralis started with a strong CT side on Overpass, but they almost dropped the ball during the second half. All Astralis had to do was win three rounds on the T side and they would be getting a pass to the 2-1 bracket. But they struggled quite a bit as the Brazilian squad managed to pick up 10 rounds during the second half and came very close to taking Astralis down.

Fortunately for the European fans, both teams pulled off their respective teams, meaning that every single team in the top 8 comes from the European qualifiers. The only European team missing in the top 8 is Eternal Fire, but it would be impossible to have 9 teams in the top 8, right? 

Let’s remember that the top 8 teams will advance into the Legends Stage where they would be facing the very best teams in the world, with the likes of FaZe, NaVi, and Heroic already having a spot in this stage.

Things are looking good for Europe in the first major of the year, while the North American, APAC, and South American teams might be heading home very early on in the tournament. MIBR and Imperial Esports would be the two teams with the highest chances of getting into the top 8, although it is very unlikely due to their recent results.