This article is part of our CS:GO series.
With The New Legends stage now halfway in the books, the playoff picture is starting to become a bit more clear. Teams like FaZe Clan and Quantum Bellator Fire (yeah, I'm surprised too) continue to set themselves apart from the pack, while stalwarts like Cloud9 and Virtus.pro continue to fall from grace.
Let's take a look at where these teams stand at the end of Day 2.
FaZe Clan (2-0): While FaZe may have been downed by Vega Squadron during The New Challenger stage, the Europeans shook off the rust with an incredibly dominant victory on Saturday. It looks as though the dominance of FaZe is back and ready to wreak havoc on the CS:GO landscape once more.
Quantum Bellator Fire (2-0): Would you look at that? Despite coming out of nowhere with a surprising run in The New Challengers stage, this team is continuing to show up in a major way in The New Legends stage. It was close, but a 19-16 win over the reigning Major champions is nothing to scoff at.
G2 Esports (2-0): G2? More like North America enemy No. 1. It was bad enough that this team took down Cloud9 on Friday, but it then went and took out Team Liquid by the same 16-8 score. G2 is now the Kings of NA, I guess?
SK Gaming (2-0): Sure, the Brazilians of SK may have squeaked out narrow wins on the first two days of this tournament, but a win's a win, right? They're now 2-0 and look to be on their way to a quick 3-0.
Mousesports (1-1): After a dominant win over Astralis on the opening day of The New Legends stage, mouz was knocked back down to size against SK Gaming on Saturday. They'll now (possibly?) have a chance to bounce back against a defeated Vega Squadron on Sunday.
Gambit Esports (1-1): It's not looking the greatest for the defending Major champions, as they took a tough loss to Quantum Bellator on Saturday. Sure, they went into overtime, but they were still downed by this dark horse team in a winnable game.
Natus Vincere (1-1): What a turnaround. After being dumpstered by Gambit Esports on Day 1 of The New Legends stages, Na'Vi came back with an even more dominating dumpstering of BIG on Day 2 in the form of a 16-1 win on Inferno. If the back-and-forth trend continues, Team Liquid should be in for a treat in this matchup on Day 3.
Team Liquid (1-1): Well, that didn't last long. A big (no pun intended) win over BIG on Friday had many thinking that Liquid was in for an easy road to The New Champions stage. That all changed at the hands of G2 on Saturday, as the French beat Liquid down in a 16-8 game.
Fnatic (1-1): While Fnatic had the tall task of facing off against the formidable FaZe Clan on the opening day, they were met with a bit of a cakewalk against the former Polish Plow. They'll have to enjoy the reprieve for now since they'll have a date with Astralis on Day 3.
Space Soldiers (1-1): After playing SK close on Day 1, Space Soldiers came right back swinging against Cloud9 to pick up a 16-13 win to stabilize themselves going into Day 3. Could this be the year for Space Soldiers?
Vega Squadron (1-1): Lightning doesn't strike in the same spot twice. Vega learned this the hard way when they tried to overcome FaZe for the second time in as many weeks. FaZe was ready to exact revenge this time around and easily handle Vega in a lopsided 16-3 contest.
Astralis (1-1): *takes a deep breath* That was a close one, huh? After taking an 11-4 deficit into the half, Astralis somehow buckled down and came up with a 16-14 win. Could the defending ELEAGUE Champions be back? I guess we'll find out when the Danes take on Fnatic on Day 3.
North (0-2): It just seems like North has missed the boat here in Atlanta. After falling to the less formidable Vega Squadron on Day 1, North looked to be on the road to an even 1-1 record when it had Astralis dead to rights in an 11-4 first half. Then the wheels came flying off as Astralis finally woke up and walked away with a razor thin 16-14 victory.
Cloud9 (0-2): Not a good day for North America. While Team Liquid is still in a nice spot after having won on the opening day, Cloud9 is now on the brink of elimination. They may have put up a fight against Space Soldiers, being so close to a win has to feel just as bad in this case.
Virtus.pro (0-2): Anyone remember Space Jam? When the alien with the cigar takes all the powers of the NBA players and they end up being terrible basketball players as a result? Apparently that guy actually exists because VP continues to look like a shell of their former selves at every turn.
BIG (0-2): It just keeps getting worse for this team. After being picked apart by Team Liquid on Day 1, they went and got absolutely demolished by Na'Vi on the second day. Their 16-1 loss stands as the most lopsided game of both stages of the tournament thus far. Maybe their luck changes against North?
