The double-elimination playoff bracket is set for the Gamers Galaxy: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 after Group Stage play wrapped up and Team Spirit and Team Secret advanced through a play-in bracket Thursday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Spirit and Secret will start out in the lower bracket of the Playoffs. In the upper bracket, Group A champion Nigma Galaxy will face OG and Group B winner BOOM Esports will battle Tundra Esports.
Nine teams are competing for a share of a 1 million Emirati dirham prize pool, which equates to $272,482. After best-of-one contests in the Group Stage and best-of-three Play-In matches, the Playoff Stage will be best-of-three until the best-of-five Grand Final.
Thursday began with two final Group Stage matches. Nigma Galaxy knocked off previously unbeaten Tundra in 30 minutes on green, clinching first place in Group A at 3-1.
TSM then defeated Fnatic in 32 minutes on red, tying them at 1-3 in the five-team Group A and triggering a tiebreaker match for fourth place to avoid elimination. TSM won once again, this time in 34 minutes on red, to make the play-in stage.
Canada’s Jonathan Bryle “Bryle” Santos De Guia notched TSM’s top performance in the tiebreaker with a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 5/0/9.
But in a best-of-three showdown, Team Secret prevailed over TSM 2-1. Secret opened with a 42-minute win on green, TSM responded with a 38-minute victory on red and Secret won out in the end with a 34-minute result on green. Pakistani-American Team Secret star Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan led the winners with an average K-D-A of 8.0/3.0/10.7.
In the other play-in match, Spirit handled Nigma Galaxy SEA 2-0, victorious in 31 minutes on red both rounds. Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek of Russia was Spirit’s MVP with an average ratio of 13.5/2.5/9.5.
The Playoff Stage will begin Friday with four matches:
Nigma Galaxy vs. OG (upper bracket round 1)
BOOM Esports vs. Tundra Esports (upper bracket round 1)
Team Spirit vs. Nigma Galaxy or OG (lower bracket round 1)
Team Secret vs. BOOM Esports or Tundra Esports (lower bracket round 1)
Gamers Galaxy: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 prize pool
1. $108,993
2. $54,497
3. $32,698
4. $21,799
5-6. $13,624
7-8. $8,174 — Nigma Galaxy SEA, TSM
9. $5,450 — Fnatic
–Field Level Media