The penultimate round of the Esports World Cup open qualifier group stage has concluded, with eight squads punching their tickets to the playoffs while eight others saw their Paris dreams end.
The most shocking result came from Prestige, led by Kristjan "fejtZ" Allsaar, who stunned Metizport in a full three-map showdown to claim their playoff berth. Metizport became the highest-profile casualty of the round, falling short when it mattered most.
SINNERS showed incredible resilience after suffering a brutal 13-0 defeat to K27 in their winners match. They quickly regrouped and dominated Dark Tigre with a convincing 2-0 sweep to keep their tournament alive. Meanwhile, JiJieHao managed to edge out the revamped Sangal lineup in a nail-biting series that went down to the wire.
OG had a much smoother path, dispatching Vael without breaking a sweat. Phantom wrapped up the opening eight groups with a decisive victory over levelONE, completing the first wave of playoff qualifications.
All eight teams that won their deciding matches have now moved forward to Sunday's single-elimination playoff bracket. The action continues with decider games from groups 1-8, where prominent teams like Fluxo, SAW, and 1win will battle for their chance to join the playoff field.
