Photo courtesy of ESL
The first day of PGL Bucharest Major group stage has come to an end. Eight teams claimed their first victories to be seeded into the 'high group' tomorrow, eight teams will face off in the 'low group'.
The PGL Bucharest Major is using the Swiss Style group stage format. For the uninitiated, the seedings and rounds look overwhelming with teams playing a lot of Dota 2 over the course of four days. Paul "Redeye" Chaloner gave a pro tip to make things more simple - teams who claim 3 victories will head to the playoffs.
Eight teams have already made the first notch in their belts towards the playoffs.
Team Liquid overpowered LFY with a strong start to the event. The Chinese team grabbed a cheeky Bristleback pick, but Team Liquid was sure to shut it down early on and shift the beginning momentum into their favor. While the European team displayed fantastic rotations and their expected stand out plays, LFY struggled with lack of follow up and execution of their strategy.
Team Secret was able to take down compLexity Gaming with relative ease. Lacking stuns on the North American side, a heavily farmed Nature's Prophet was unable to help the team find space or pace. By 30 minutes Team Secret had just run away with the lead including a 21k gold advantage.
Evil Geniuses took on PaiN Gaming and cruised into victory. The South American team looked pretty strong coming out of the gate, covering the North American team in a puddle of blood as they took a 5:0 lead in the first five minutes. Unfortunately, they were unable to sustain their lead and EG closed the gap quickly to overcome the Brazillian team.
The Virtus.pro vs OpTic Gaming matchup ended up being the first upset of the event. The CIS powerhouse had just taken the title at ESL One Katowice 2018 and claimed the victory in the two team's last meeting, giving VP the odds in their favor. However, VP was on a timer and after a team wipe followed up by another bad engagement, OpTic was able to secure their victory in the last minutes.
The SEA battle taking place between Mineski and TnC was another hyped up series. With a flawless game by Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto and overall full control from the start, TnC easily dominated Mineski and seized their first win of the event.
Perhaps the second upset for most fans was during the all Chinese series between ViCi Gaming and VGJ.Thunder. It was also the first game where Dark Willow was picked by VG, an underwhelming experience when it was all said and done. Armed with some outstanding plays by Liu "Sylar" Jiajun and a perfect game by Liu "Kamma/Freeze" Chang, VGJ.Thunder took the victory in just 28 minutes with an incredibly low kill game of 18:6.
Natus Vincere continue to struggle to find their groove with their new roster and the changes in their playstyle. Facing off against OG, the Ukrainian team tried desperately to take control of the game but were never able to fully wrap their fingers around it, watching opportunities to blow the game open slip from their hands.
Newbee decimated Vega Squadron, making it look like they were taking candy from a baby as they plucked the last victory of the day out of the CIS' hopes.
Action resumes tomorrow at 09:00 CET with the winners from today squaring off in the high rounds, followed by the low rounds.
PGL Bucharest Major Group Stage Round 2
PGL Bucharest Major Group Stage Format:
- 16 team swiss-tournament
- Every match is Bo1
- First round seeded
Second round
- Division into 2 groups:
- Winners of the first round ("high")
- Losers of the first round ("low")
- Each team is drawn an opponent they have not played yet from their group
Third round
- Division into 3 groups:
- Teams with a score of 2:0 ("high")
- Teams with a score of 1:1 ("mid")
- Teams with a score of 0:2 ("low")
- Each team is drawn an opponent they have not played yet from their group
- Winners of the high group advance to playoffs
- Losers of the low group are eliminated
Fourth round
- Division into 2 groups:
- Teams with a score of 2:1 ("high")
- Teams with a score of 1:2 ("low")
- Each team is drawn an opponent they have not played yet from their group
- Winners of the high group advance to playoffs
- Losers of the low group are eliminated
Fifth round
- Each team is drawn an opponent they have not played yet from their group
- Winners advance to playoffs
- Losers are eliminated
