NRG have been knocked out of iBUYPOWER Masters FML after suffering a surprising defeat to Wildcard in the Group A elimination series, finishing in 5th-6th place.
Jadan "HexT" Postma and Danny "Cxzi" Strzelczyk led the charge for Wildcard in the crucial Americas showdown, avenging their 0-2 defeat from Friday's opening round. HexT dominated with an impressive 1.55 rating across the series.
"We played really badly yesterday. It feels good to have redemption," HexT commented after the victory. "The calls were amazing. Danny played great. I played great. Everyone played great. It feels pretty good."
The elimination is a major setback for NRG, who had built momentum at StarLadder StarSeries Fall with their upset victory over MOUZ less than ten days ago. That win had helped them gain ground in the Americas VRS standings, but this loss puts their Major qualification hopes at risk.
Nick "nitr0" Cannella's squad currently sits eighth in the regional rankings, though they could drop further if paiN defeats Imperial in the FERJEE In House Season 2 grand final on Sunday.
Wildcard advance to the semi-finals alongside M80, Liquid, and DENDELE. The other elimination match saw M80 narrowly overcome Voca in a tight series that went the full distance on both maps.
The North American LAN now moves into its playoff stage with the remaining four teams competing for the championship.
