The third day and the final day of the Group Stage secured the final 2 teams that will join the expected favorites in the Playoffs and complete the Thunderpick World Championship Finals Playoff Teams.
Aurora get their revenge against 9z
The event kicked off with the biggest upset of the the tournament. Aurora fought their way to the decider matches of Day 3, eliminating Ninjas in Pyjamas in 2 straight maps. They showed the sort of form that we would have expected from the team coming into the event now much warmer to the stage.
This time, the hero rouns needed out of players like luchov were nowhere to be seen. The first map went close, largely down to communication mistakes from Aurora that let 9z back into the game, going 13-11 to finish the map in regulation time.
On Inferno, the same could not be said, Aurora kept the pressure on from the start, opening on the CT side, 9z never got a chance to play. luchov droppe an all time career low, going from Day 1’s MVP to 1-14 and dismal 0.38 rating. On the other side, wicadia and a significantly less frustrated Jimmphat lead the charge on inferno, with the Macedonian kyxsan showing consistency in the 2-0 win.
From 3 Brazilian Teams down to 1
We went into this 3rd day with 3 of Brazil’s best looking towards that playoff spot. With the 9z exit, only Legacy and FURIA remained. BB, who had shown some strong form in their winning games. The first 2 maps kept a familiar theme, with Legacy leading but struggling to close out a win. Down the first map thanks the Brazilian squad failing to close out Nuke before overtime, the seeds of a 2-0 were starting to be sown as the lead cut down to touching distance. A clutch up in the 1 on 1 denied an overtime.
1 HP was the difference maker, arT vs Magnojez on Round 15 came down to that singular hitpoint thanks to the difference in weapons turned into a flawless anti-eco. Legacy wrestled it back, keeping the teams trading rounds, going into what looked like it could finally be a Legacy comeback. It would come down to one last botched attack, a huge AWP round from zorte and a bomb timer ticking down against CTs with no kit.
BB survive the elimination match, and a date with Falcons in the Playoffs.