Photo courtesy of ESL
As the second day of the PGL Bucharest Major comes to a close, elimination inches closer for some unlucky teams that struggled to find a win in the 'low' group today.
Eight teams entered the second day of the PGL Bucharest Major group stage with a 0:1 record. Their aim was to claim a win in today's series in order even out their record and increase their chances to see the playoffs. Teams that suffer from 3 losses ultimately will be eliminated in the Swiss Style group stage format, where only eight teams will advance to the playoffs.
compLexity Gaming and Mineski were the first 'low' group teams up to bat. The North American based team picked a fast, lane controlling line-up looking to get the game won quickly. Things seemed to go according to plan for them and after the third Roshan, Mineski found themselves against mega creeps and heavily armed compLexity.
Virtus.pro's appearance in the low group was something that came as a surprise to many fans. As they headed out of the gates against LFY, the CIS powerhouse wasn't looking to be in the same form that won them the ESL One Katowice Major only days ago. Even though LFY had a heavily farmed Lina and a serious advantage, it wasn't enough to keep the Terrorblade and CIS lineup at bay and Virtus.pro were able to seize their chance for a win.
The CIS showdown between Na'Vi and Vega Squadron featured an older draft that seemed familiar to the Vega Sharks. The two teams clashed on even terms for the early and mid game until Na'Vi, slow and steady, found their way ahead of their opponents to take the lead. Many fans were pleased to see a flawless game from the Na'Vi poster child - Danil "Dendi" Ishutin on Death Prophet, reminding them of the true potential of the team.
PaiN Gaming took ViCi Gaming head-on with a strong start that turned into an incredible lead. ViCi Gaming chose a draft that seemed to be weak in the laning stage and was very greedy. The Brazilian team didn't waste much time to capitalize on things and 26 minutes in a fantastic black hole and team fight coordination lead to a quick 'gg' call from the Chinese team and gave PaiN their first win.
Mineski, LFY, Vega and ViCi Gaming will have an uphill battle ahead of them, facing possible elimination tomorrow and fighting for their tournament lives.
The action resumes tomorrow, March 6th at 09:00 CET with the two Round 3 "high" series with two teams claiming a spot in the playoffs, followed by four Round 3 "mid" series and ending with two teams being eliminated during the two Round 3 "low" series.
Remaining PGL Bucharest Major Group Stage Format:
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
