Natus Vincere and Team Spirit battled their way to three-map victories in Round 3 Sunday to advance to the Champions Stage of PGL Major Antwerp 2022 in Belgium.
NaVi defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-1 and Spirit rallied down a map to beat the Copenhagen Flames 2-1 in the second day of Legends action after the first two rounds were played Saturday.
Natus Vincere, Spirit, the Flames and NiP all qualified for Round 3 High Matches after each began the stage at 2-0. Eight other teams faced off in Round 3 Mid Matches, with another four in Low.
NaVi blew out NiP 16-6 on Inferno before the Ninjas snuck a 16-14 decision on Mirage to even the match. NaVi then dominated on Ancient, taking the final map 16-4.
Spirit fell behind 1-0 after dropping a 16-10 decision on Vertigo, but came back to score emphatic triumphs on Mirage (16-8) and Ancient (16-6) to take the match.
In Round 3 Low Matches, Team Liquid and Bad News Eagles were eliminated by sweep. Liquid fell 2-0 to Team Vitality, losing 16-7 on Mirage and 16-11 on Dust II. Bad News was ousted by a 2-0 score against Imperial Esports by virtue of a 16-13 loss on Inferno and 16-14 decision on Mirage.
Round 3 Mid Matches were best-of-one since neither advancements not eliminations were on the line. Heroic defeated G2 Esports 19-17 in overtime on Vertigo, FURIA Esports downed BIG 16-10 on Vertigo, ENCE bested Outsiders 16-8 on Mirage and FaZe Ckan took care of Cloud9 16-8 on Nuke.
The major’s opening Challengers Stage that concluded Thursday featured 16 teams competing for eight berths into the Legends Stage. Utilizing the Swiss System format, the eight teams that won in Round 1 proceeded to the Round 2 “High” matches and the eight that lost moved to the Round 2 “Low” matches.
Round 3 was divided into High, Mid and Low Matches — with High winners claiming spots in next week’s Champions Stage and Low losers being eliminated.
All matches are best-of-one except elimination and advancement matches, which are best-of-three.
The 16-team Legends Stage that opened Saturday runs through Tuesday in the same format to determine which eight teams will clinch spots in the May 19-22 Champions Stage.
Round 4 Legends Stage action continues Monday:
Copenhagen Flames vs. FaZe Clan (High)
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. FURIA Esports (High)
ENCE vs. Heroic (High)
BIG vs. Team Vitality (Low)
G2 Esports vs. Outsiders (Low)
Cloud9 vs. Imperial Esports (Low)
–Field Level Media