Day 1 of the Playoffs are over and we have two of the four teams that will make it to the semifinals of the FACEIT Major 2018. The first game on Day 1 saw BiG take on Natus Vincere, with both teams qualifying with a 3-1 scoreline during the New Legends Stage.
compLexity were the surprise 3-0 entrants into the Playoffs and they went up against mibr, who had eked through over three maps in the decider matchups.
BiG vs Natus Vincere
Many experts went with BiG to take the win over Natus Vincere, especially after the map veto that saw Dust2, Nuke, and Overpass be the maps in the respective order. The CIS giants though, had some other plans.
Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev stated earlier about how Natus Vincere were quietly confident on Dust2 and were itching for someone to pick it against them. BiG gave them the chance and starting on the CT side, s1mple & co. did not disappoint.
While Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov was consistently shutting down BiG on the A bombsite, s1mple continued to show why he is regarded as the best player in 2018 with some ridiculous shots on B. The game ended in the blink of an eye as Natus Vincere raced to a 16-2 win on BiG’s map.
Nuke started with BiG shutting down Natus Vincere’s attempt to take control of the A site. But tides soon turned as the CIS giants hit back on the ensuing round with 3 BiG players forced to save their weaponry.
Natus Vincere ended the half with a 12-3 scoreline, thanks to some clutch rounds from s1mple and Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilyev. BiG did pull the scoreline back to 12-6 in hopes of mounting a comeback. Natus Vincere though, did not let the German stack win any more rounds, closing out the map 16-6.
As flamie iterated in the post-match interview and as the experts reaffirmed, BiG just did not look like their own selves on the server. BiG seemed to have over-prepared for Natus Vincere, which was the reason of their crushing loss.
compLexity vs MiBR
A match that had a clear-cut favourite in MiBR, even after the vetoes. And, disappointingly for compLexity, it panned out that way as well. compLexity never even stood a chance on Train as MiBR closed out their own map pick 16-4.
Inferno was a closer affair though, with compLexity mustering up quite an enviable offence. MiBR managed only seven rounds on the CT side. However, those seven rounds proved more than enough, thanks to the heroics of Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, who even registered an ace for himself on the defense.
compLexity just could not get going on the CT side and only managed 4 rounds, thus surrendering the map 16-12 and bowing out of the FACEIT Major 2018.
The North American organization can be proud of their showing. Nobody expected them to qualify for the playoffs, let alone with a perfect record in the New Legends Stage. This could be a result to build upon for Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz and his troops.
Day 1 provided some exhilarating action for the fans, despite both the matches being one-sided affairs, with Natus Vincere and mibr making it to the semi-finals. Day 2 will witness Liquid match up against HellRaisers before the Astralis-Faze showdown.
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