This article is part of our CS:GO series.
The third day of the New Challenger stage at the ELEAGUE Major saw two teams advancing to The New Legends stage while two were sent packing. Cloud9 and G2 Esports are now New Legends, while FlipSid3 Tactics and Flash Gaming will miss out on the next stage. Here is how Day 3 of the offline qualifier played out:
FaZe Clan (2-1) vs. Quantum Bellator Fire (1-2): The first best-of-one series on Day 3 kicked off on Mirage where QB Fire picked up the pistol and the following two anti-eco rounds. In the buy-round, FaZe finally got on the board and picked up four straight, making the Russians call a timeout, which was shut down my Nikola "NiKo" Kovac quad kill. FaZe went on to dominate the remainder of the first half and even carried that momentum into the second to take Mirage 16-6.
Team EnVyUs (1-2) vs. Flash Gaming (0-3): The French of EnVyUs were on the verge of being eliminated on Day 3 with Flash standing in their path. The first half was all EnVyUs with an aggressive and in your face offense that controlled the Flash economy and the map to en route for a 12-3 lead. However, Flash came back strong in the second half to break nV's economy several times, but the French prevailed and closed Inferno 16-13.
Misfits (1-2) vs. Space Soldiers (2-1): Misfits came out of the gates red hot on the offense side of things as the North Americans aggressively put up four quick rounds against the Turks. Space Soldiers got something out of their buy round, which then turned into an even 4-4 game. From there, both teams traded rounds but Space Soldiers came out on top after taking out Misfits' economy for a 9-6 half. Misfits got off at to a great start in the second half but the Turks economy was in full effect and began to dismantle Misfits to en route a 16-13 finish on Train.
Natus Vincere (2-1) vs. Sprout Gaming (1-2): Sprout didn't have the greatest start on Mirage as Natus Vincere showed up to play, eliminating every angle Sprout tried to advance. The CIS-based team had a massive defensive first half showing as Sprout could only muster up three rounds late to close the half 12-3. Unfortunately, Sprout was unable to make any more progress in the second half and took a four-round blowout in the 16-3 win for Na'Vi.
Vega Squadron (2-1) vs. G2 Esports (3-0): All eyes were on these two 2-0 teams as Vega Squadron beat FaZe convincingly the day before. However, it was all G2 from the start on the defensive side, shutting down Vega's offense for a tough 12-3 score at the half. The tides turned in the second half when the Russians picked up seven in a row to bring the deficit within two. G2 managed to get their economy back in order and stabilize a bit, but Vega were close behind and eventually reached match point before G2 forced overtime. G2 were lights out in the extra rounds picking up three straight on the way to a 19-16 win to punch their ticket into the next round.
Team Liquid (2-1) vs. Renegades (1-2): A contested start to Cobblestone had both teams trading rounds early on, but the North Americans of Liquid managed to establish their dominance on the defensive side before long. Breaking Renegades' economy on the B-bombsite hold and shutting down a late rotation allowed Liquid to come out on top at the half with a score of 10-5. Renegades took the pistol but Liquid advanced their lead with an aggressive and fast-paced offense to make it 14-6. Renegades began to see Liquid's offense become more transparent and started a massive comeback. While they almost forced overtime, Nick "Nitr0" Cannella stepped up big to secure the 2-1 record with a 16-14 win on Cobblestone.
AVANGAR (1-2) vs. FlipSid3 Tactics (0-3): Both teams were on the verge of elimination from Atlanta on Sunday, making the matchup much more intense for the CIS-underdogs. However, AVANGAR didn't seem phased at all as the defense looked stout, holding FlipSid3 to a 7-0 lead at the start. FlipSid3 finally got on the board in Round 8 and could only add a couple of rounds before AVANGAR closed the doors with an 11-4 score. Georgi "WorldEdit" Yaskin opened up the second half with a pistol round win for FlipSid3 but AVANGAR weren't having it and pounced to close the map 16-7 on Train, surviving another day.
Cloud9 (3-0) vs. mousesports (2-1): The final match of the day came down to a surging mouz and a hungry Cloud9 roster looking to advance into The New Legends stage. Cloud9 went head-to-head against mouz on Train where the North Americans made it know they came prepared as the team surged for an impressive 9-0 start. Mouz finally got on the board in Round 10 and accumulated a few more rounds but Cloud9 would have the last round to end the half 11-4. Chris "chrisJ" de Jong couldn't find his rhythm in the first half nor did he have the chance to have an AWP in the second due to Cloud9 keeping their economy shattered. As a result, mouz could only bring forth one round in the second half as Cloud9 advance with a 16-5 win on Train.
The final stage of The New Challengers is set to kick off at 10 a.m. ET on Monday as Misfits look to stay alive against AVANGAR.
Below is the full list of Day 4 matches:
2-1 Pool
Space Soldiers vs. mouz
Team Liquid vs. Vega Squadron
FaZe Clan vs. Natus Vincere
1-2 Pool
Quantum Bellator Fire vs. Team EnVyUs
Misfits vs. AVANGAR
Renegades vs. Sprout Gaming
