Apeks' win concludes long day of upsets
The Legends Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major has finally drawn to a close, seeing the final three teams qualify for playoffs from the 2-2 pool. Of the three squads that earned a place in the Champions Stage, two of them, Into the Breach and Apeks, were viewed as underdogs versus their opponents fnatic and NIP. Those two squads, as well as FaZe, round out a bizarre playoff bracket that includes other rising squads such as Monte and GamerLegion, as well as more established teams like Heroic, Vitality, and Liquid.
The first match of the day, the clash of titans between FaZe and NAVI, was undoubtedly the most expected result of the three games. It would be difficult to describe this result as an upset considering the fact that many simply did not know who would win between the two. BLAST talent was fairly divided on the topic, and neither FaZe nor NAVI's recent results inspired any confidence in either squad to have a one-up on the other. FaZe ultimately bested NAVI in a lengthy 2-1 series with a double overtime finish, securing them a place in the playoffs versus one of the favorites to win it all, Heroic, a matchup somehow even more daunting than their 2-2 game.
FaZeNatus Vincere| FaZe |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Helvijs 'broky' Saukants |
78 - 50 | +28 | 89.8 | 82.4% | 1.33 |
 Håvard 'rain' Nygaard |
62 - 59 | +3 | 79.9 | 71.4% | 1.12 |
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
58 - 62 | -4 | 77.9 | 79.1% | 1.10 |
 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen |
63 - 64 | -1 | 73.8 | 71.4% | 1.03 |
 Robin 'ropz' Kool |
55 - 50 | +5 | 64.7 | 65.9% | 0.97 |
| Natus Vincere |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ilya 'Perfecto' Zalutskiy |
59 - 55 | +4 | 72.1 | 74.7% | 1.06 |
 Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev |
62 - 66 | -4 | 73.9 | 68.1% | 1.02 |
| Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy |
56 - 65 | -9 | 76.2 | 69.2% | 1.00 |
| Denis 'electroNic' Sharipov |
61 - 69 | -8 | 71.4 | 58.2% | 0.98 |
| Andrii 'npl' Kukharskyi |
45 - 64 | -19 | 57.5 | 57.1% | 0.78 |
In sharp contrast, Into the Breach's victory over fnatic was arguably the biggest upset of the day, with the British side taking down fnatic in a three-map affair. Coming into the Legends Stage as the second-lowest ranked team ahead of GamerLegion, expectations were at the floor for Into the Breach, but BO1 wins over FaZe and ENCE inspired confidence in the squad. A strong showing on Overpass versus Liquid showed that there was some life for the Brits in BO3s, and the win over fnatic clears ITB of being just BO1 warriors. ITB's reward for victory is a quarterfinal matchup against Vitality, a series that the arena will no doubt love to cheer (or jeer) for.
fnaticInto the Breach| fnatic |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 William 'mezii' Merriman |
56 - 45 | +11 | 77.4 | 69.4% | 1.13 |
 Dion 'FASHR' Derksen |
43 - 47 | -4 | 68.2 | 72.2% | 1.00 |
| Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidi |
44 - 50 | -6 | 69.5 | 65.3% | 0.93 |
 Freddy 'KRIMZ' Johansson |
38 - 41 | -3 | 62.8 | 70.8% | 0.90 |
| Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen |
33 - 58 | -25 | 65.9 | 62.5% | 0.70 |
| Into the Breach |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey 'CRUC1AL' Steusel |
58 - 35 | +23 | 74.4 | 81.9% | 1.35 |
| Cai 'CYPHER' Watson |
51 - 49 | +2 | 83.3 | 75.0% | 1.22 |
 Karol 'rallen' Rodowicz |
39 - 44 | -5 | 70.2 | 77.8% | 1.02 |
| Thomas 'Thomas' Utting |
50 - 45 | +5 | 69.9 | 70.8% | 1.00 |
 Sebastian 'volt' Maloș |
42 - 42 | +0 | 60.7 | 70.8% | 0.95 |
The day concluded with a victory for Apeks over NIP, with Tim "nawwk" Jonasson's revenge versus his former team being the selling point for the series. While NIP were certainly favorites heading into the matchup considering their pedigree, hints that Apeks had the potential for this kind of victory have been showcased in both the Challengers and Legends Stage. A win over Liquid for Apeks was then followed with a relatively smooth 3-1 placing. Although NIP had previously taken down big names like MOUZ, OG, FURIA, and ENCE, they proved unable to contend with the new blood of Apeks, as Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski's men rallied two overtime victories to take the series, including a 14-3 comeback on Ancient. Apeks will now be preparing to square off with Liquid once again, this time in an arena BO3, a far cry from the opening BO1 the two played to kick off the Challengers Stage.
ApeksNinjas in Pyjamas| Apeks |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad |
64 - 51 | +13 | 96.9 | 76.1% | 1.32 |
 Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski |
52 - 48 | +4 | 85.5 | 74.6% | 1.17 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
47 - 44 | +3 | 76.3 | 71.8% | 1.09 |
| Tim 'nawwk' Jonasson |
48 - 40 | +8 | 64.2 | 70.4% | 1.08 |
 Martin 'STYKO' Styk |
43 - 50 | -7 | 68.8 | 70.4% | 0.96 |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil 'headtr1ck' Valitov |
62 - 47 | +15 | 80.3 | 77.5% | 1.24 |
 Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen |
50 - 48 | +2 | 70.9 | 64.8% | 1.01 |
| Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin |
47 - 53 | -6 | 75.6 | 70.4% | 0.98 |
| Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke |
39 - 56 | -17 | 74.0 | 64.8% | 0.88 |
| Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner |
35 - 51 | -16 | 62.1 | 67.6% | 0.86 |
