NAVI Qualifies for PGL Major Stockholm 2021
Natus Vincere has automatically qualified for the Majors.
Everything seems to be going right for Natus Vincere as they become the first CS:GO team to qualify for the upcoming PGL Major Stockholm 2021. There is still one last RMR (Regional Major Rankings) tournament that is left to be played out, IEM Fall 2021: CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Due to the way the groups have been seeded for this event NAVI has secured a free pass for the Majors even in the worst-case scenario.
So far NAVI has managed to gather a total of 3680 points, standing at top of the RMR 2021: CIS leaderboard. They have lost just 120 points for replacing Egor "flamie" Vasilev with Valerii "b1t" Vakhovskyi. Now, let us explain how exactly has NAVI managed to qualify without even playing the event.
NAVI qualifies for PGL Major Stockholm 2021
The current group distribution has allowed for NAVI's qualification even in the worst-case scenario. Out of the current top five CS:GO teams on the RMR 2021: CIS points table only Team Spirit is there in Group-A along with NAVI, the remaining three teams are in the other group - Gambit Esports, K23, forZe.
As only two teams qualify from the group stage to the playoffs, it automatically allows for NAVI to be one of the five teams from the CIS region to compete at the upcoming Major.
For all those who might still be having a hard time wrapping their head around how this works, this is what the worst possible outcome for NAVI would be like.
Group - A
The two teams to qualify from this group would be Team Spirit and Akuma, as they are the most highly ranked teams in the current RMR 2021: CIS points table.
Also, NAVI would somehow manage to lose all its matches and place last in this group.
Group - B
The two teams to qualify from this group would be Gambit Esports and K23, as they are the most highly ranked teams in the current RMR 2021: CIS points table.
Playoffs
The seeding will be such that Team Spirit goes up against K23, while Akuma takes on Gambit in the semifinals. In the grand finals the outcome would favour Team Spirit over Gambit, while in the third-place match K23 beats Akuma.
IEM Fall 2021: CIS Points Distribution
As only the top five teams would be awarded with RMR points, this is what the distribution according to a team's rank would look like,
Team Spirit - 2500 RMR Points
Gambit Esports - 2344 RMR Points
K23 - 2188 RMR Points
Akuma - 2031 RMR Points
forZe - 1875 RMR Points
RMR 2021: CIS Points Table
When these points are all tallied and added to the main RMR 2021: CIS leaderboard, this is how it would be looking like.
Team Spirit - 6030
Gambit Esports - 5819
K23 - 4763
forZE - 4325
NAVI - 3680
Akuma - 3151
This goes on to show that even if NAVI, who is one of the favorites to win the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, puts on possibly its worst performance ever at the last RMR event, they would still qualify.
Yes, it would affect their seeding for the Major but they will be there as the fifth CIS team no matter what, making them the first team from the region to secure a slot.