magic have advanced in the Esports World Cup Group D lower bracket after delivering a convincing 2-0 sweep against 3DMAX, exacting revenge for their previous defeat in BLAST Bounty's Round of 32 just weeks earlier.
The result proved devastating for the French team, who suffered elimination on their home turf without securing a single map. Speaking after the match, Lucas "Lucky" Chastang admitted the squad had entered with confidence and preparation, "but everything went pretty badly."
"We are obviously incredibly sad and frustrated," Lucky reflected. "We've been working a lot for the last month, and failure is pretty bad. They played pretty well, and we couldn't get our game going."
On Dust2, magic surrendered an early advantage after failing the conversion but swiftly reclaimed momentum. They closed the opening half with a strong 8-4 lead following an impressive 7-0 streak. Svyatoslav "MaSvAl" Masko spearheaded the charge with a stellar 1.86 rating and +9.73% round swing. After halftime, the Russian squad maintained their dominance, with Abdurakhim "mo0N" Issa and Nikita "tenzy" Kochenyuk delivering crucial individual performances to seal the map.
Ancient started poorly for magic, as 3DMAX consistently answered every gun round victory. However, after transitioning to the CT side, Vitaliy "sFade8" Marushka's squad unleashed a powerful run that clinched the map and the series.
