The time has come. The final CS:GO Major has arrived and we had some fantastic matchups in the opening round in Paris. Here is a recap of the first round of fixtures for the Challengers stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Favourites survive shaky starts
Photo: Michal KonkolFaZe and G2 are two of the most decorated and experienced lineups at this phase of the Major, with both teams having won big tournaments thus far in 2023. Taking on Monte and The Mongolz respectively in their opening matches, both teams struggled to get going in the early stages.
For Finn "karrigan" Andersen’s FaZe team, the opening five rounds saw them take a 4-1 lead on their Ancient T-side, but their strong form faded fast. Only posting two more rounds for the half, Monte took a 9-6 lead heading into their T-side where they looked like they were heading for a big victory at 14-10. When FaZe has their backs against the wall, that is when they seem to thrive as the former Major champions pulled it all the way back and closed out in regulation 16-14.
The Mongolz were determined to upset G2 on Inferno as Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren’s squad came out swinging against the European juggernaut. Moving out to a 5-3 lead on the T-side, the Mongolian squad continued their momentum into halftime with Chinguun "hasteka" Bayarmaa leading the way going in at halftime up 9-6. Unfortunately, the experience and firepower was too much to handle in the second half, as G2 clawed it back on their offensive, heading to the 1-0 column with a 16-11 finish on the map.
The Americas almost off to ideal start
Photo: Michal KonkolBrazilian fans were forced to pick a side in the day's opening match as paiN took on Fluxo in a domestic derby. While this was a derby, it was not a competitive one as paiN utterly dominated their compatriots on Mirage, winning out their CT-side 13-2 before flawlessly closing out a brief T-side and securing a 16-2 victory.
Complexity showed similar dominance in the first half against GamerLegion, with a far different story in the second half. Opening up 13-2 on CT-side Inferno, it looked like North Americans would shut out their European foes. That was not to be the case however, as Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek clawed their way back into the game, coming within three rounds of tying things up at 13-10, before the NA side rallied and closed out 16-11.
The final NA team to tak to the server in round one was the regions number 1 team Liquid who faced Apeks on Ancient. It was a rough day for NAF, with the typically consistent Canadian going 7-22 as Apeks secured a 16-12 victory and sent the NA team down to 0-1.
Grayhound upset Forze, NiP and ENCE go 1-0
Photo: Michal KonkolEveryone's favorite Aussie underdogs were causing chaos for the Pick’Ems yet again. Facing Forze on Mirage, it looked as if the Australians were going to be a shoe-in for the 0-3 pick with a 12-3 deficit at halftime, but Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas and co. resiliently rallied to come all the way back and secure a 16-14 win.
In the final pair of matches for round one, Ninjas in Pyjamas took on MOUZ and ENCE played OG in simultaneous European clashes. The regions competing were not the only similarities in these two affairs which were assumed to be closely contested, with dominating first halves for NiP at 11-4, and ENCE at 12-3, being followed by convincing closeouts. NiP took Mirage 16-9, while ENCE dispatched OG 16-6 on Anubis to earn their 1-0 status.
Here are your round 2 matchups:
- paiN vs FaZe
- Complexity vs G2
- Apeks vs Grayhound
- NiP vs ENCE
- Monte vs Fluxo
- GamerLegion vs The Mongolz
- Forze vs Liquid
- MOUZ vs OG