ESTNN’s Benjamin Hodge Mckenna breaks down the teams that managed to secure a spot to the StarLadder Major in Berlin through the Asia Minor.

It has been a hectic couple of weeks for CS:GO players and fans alike, most recently we’ve seen action from the hopeful teams looking to make an appearance at the StarLadder Major in Berlin this August. These are the teams who’ve earned their places through the Asia Minor

Grayhound

Grayhound is the second Australian core to make it to the StarLadder Major. Assisted by the infamous Ollie ‘DickStacy’ Tierny, Grayhound managed to take first place at the Asia Minor. While they undoubtedly befitted from Renegades’ absence from the Minor, Grayhound managed to secure their spot at the Major with an undefeated run through the upper bracket.

The Australian mix only dropped one map in the tournament and are on their way to their second Major appearance this year.

Grayhound looked dominant in the Minor. They defeated the South African side Energy 16-7 in their opening map of Dust 2 and then set their sights on their first best-of-three. Fellow Australians Avant were their next opponents, with the veto seeing Grayhound pick Overpass, Avant picking Nuke and Mirage being left as the decider. Overpass was a relatively competitive map but a strong CT-side from Grayhound allowed them to claim victory with a 16-12 score-line.

On the other hand, Nuke was an absolute blowout in favor of Grayhound Gaming. They managed to dominate their local opponents 16-0 on Avant’s pick and moved on through the bracket. Grayhound then faced the South Korean side MVP PK in another BO3. The series ended in another convincing victory for Grayhound as they won 16-10 on Mirage and used a dominant CT-side to earn them a 16-4 win on Dust 2.

Grayhound Takes Home Top Spot

Tyloo was up next, and the Chinese team would prove to be Grayhound's ticket to the Berlin Major. This was a fiercely competitive series which saw Grayhound drop their only map of the tournament. The opening map was Tyloo’s Inferno, a close and riveting game that ended in the Australian’s narrowly clinching victory 16-14. Next up was Grayhound’s pick of Dust 2, a map that the Aussies had been successful on so far.

This time, however, the Chinese showed off their defensive strength with a 14-1 first half. Tyloo then went on to win the map 16-6. Finally, the decided was Train. Regulation time saw intense competition between the two sides that culminated in a 15-15 score and the need for overtime. Ultimately, a standout 45 kill performance from Liam ‘malta’ Schembri saw Grayhound win Train in double overtime and take the series.

Tyloo

Tyloo was the second team from Asia to earn a spot at the StarLadder Main Qualifier. The veteran Asian roster looked to add to their Major appearances and managed to do so at the Asia Minor last weekend. Their opening matchup was a comfortable 16-8 victory against the orgless team FFAmix.

Next up they’d face the Thai-side Alpha Red in their opening BO3. The sides traded maps back and forth in this series, but Tyloo managed to win both Overpass and Train 16-18 and 16-9 to secure a 2-1 win over Alpha Red, despite a 16-8 Thai victory on Mirage.

Next up, Tyloo faced off against Avant. Tyloo absolutely crushed Avant with a killer 14-1 T-side on Avant’s map pick of Overpass; winning the map 16-2. The Australians then attempted to fight back with an 8-7 CT-side on Mirage. However, Tyloo proved too strong, taking the the map 16-12. Tyloo’s final upper bracket matchup was against Grayhound, resulting in a Grayhound victory 2-1. With this loss, Tyloo dropped into the lower bracket.

Now, Tyloo had to defeat MVP PK in a BO3 to qualify for the Major or have to play in the Minor play-in. Thankfully for Chinese CS:GO fans, Tyloo dominated MVP PK 16-4 on Dust 2 and 16-6 on Inferno, winning them the series and earning them their spot at the New Challengers Stage.

Unfortunately, MVP PK was unable to win a series at the Minor Play-in. As a result, only two teams from the Asia region made it to the Main Qualifier.

Image VIA: StarLadder