PGL Major 2021 Challengers Stage Day 2: FaZe and CPHF Qualify, Astralis Survives
The second day concludes with the departure of a few teams!
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After the conclusion of a thrilling opening day, the second day of PGL Major Stockholm 2021 witnessed the qualification and departure of two CS:GO teams. However, the biggest news coming out of Challengers Stage Day-2 was Astralis surviving its do-or-die series against the Brazilian roster of GODSENT.
Astralis is still not completely safe though, as they now face another elimination match against paiN Gaming. It will be interesting to see if the last remaining Brazilian team in this stage of the Major can continue its survival or not.
Apart from this we also witnessed the two CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) teams, Spirit and Entropiq make their way into the qualification matches. FaZe Clan and Copenhagen Flames continued their hot streak to go '3-0', booking themselves a slot in the Legends Stage.
Ahead is a more detailed recap of all the wins and losses that transpired at PGL Major Stockholm 2021: Challengers Stage Day-2.
Viewers Guide: PGL Major 2021 - Challengers Stage Day 2
A total of eight matches were played today, four single map games and four best-of-three matches, at the end of which two teams qualified for the Legends Stage while two others exited the tournament.
The teams from the CIS region recovered well to set themselves up in a good position for Day-3. While the Brazilian teams took a massive hit, their hopes now pinned on paiN Gaming as the last remaining contender in the Challengers Stage.
FaZe Clan and Copenhagen Flames beat all odds to qualify for the Legends Stage
The AI's prediction comes true as FaZe Clan actually becomes one of the first teams from the Challengers Stage to qualify for the Legends Stage.
After a strong performance on Day-1 where they beat Team Spirit and ENCE quite comfortably by ensuring they maintained control of their matches throughout. FaZe continued its hot streak by going on to defeat a seemingly fragile Virtus.pro (VP).
They won the first game on Mirage which was VP's pick with a close '16-14' scoreline. However, it was on their map pick Ancient where FaZe Clan found its groove, as they smashed VP '16-6' to secure a clean '2-0' series win.
Copenhagen Flames (CPHF), whom many had predicted to go '0-3' in their Pick'Em, is the second team to qualify for the Legends Stage. They did have to face two derby matches in order to do so, first Astralis then Heroic, but they still made it look good all the way through.
Despite being the underdogs CPHF's hard work shone bright, all the hours put in by them to refined their form as showcased by them during IEM Fall 2021: Europe.
They beat Heroic on Vertigo and Overpass by a '16-7' and '16-12' scoreline respectively, ensuring that they ruin Pick'Em for a lot of users and show their potential as a rising Danish roster.
Astralis survives their early exit from the Major
Facing elimination after the Day-1 collapse, Astralis were in a better flow today against GODSENT. The Danish roster displayed a brilliant performance on their map pick Nuke, giving away just two rounds in the first half while playing as attackers and closing out soon after in the second half.
They were confident in their decision making and everything they did seemed to be working in their favour. They stole GODSENT's map pick Vertigo away from them, winning it with a '16-11' scoreline and securing a clean '2-0' victory.
Having eliminated one Brazilian roster, Astralis now face another in their second do-or-die match. They will be taking on paiN Gaming in a best-of-three series tomorrow at 21:00 IST.
Spirit and Entropiq put on a show
After suffering a loss in their opening match to follow it up with a win, both Team Spirit and Entropiq are following each other step for step. The real surprise being a '16-6' win for Entropiq against Astralis on Day-2, which is one of the biggest upset so far in the Major.
The two continued to belt in another victory today as well. While Spirit had it easy against TYLOO, completely outplaying them on Overpass with a dominant '16-3' scoreline. Things were quite competitive for Entropiq against Movistar Riders on Mirage, as the Spaniards did not go down without putting up a resilient fight.
They are both now just one win away from making their way through to the Legends Stage, as they face Virtus.pro and Heroic respectively. But a loss will not result in an elimination for them, giving them another chance to qualify on Day-3.
With this, PGL Major Stockholm 2021: Challengers Stage Day-2 comes to an end. A lot of interesting matches awaiting us tomorrow, as three more teams will qualify for the Legends Stage while three others will be flying back home.
