Lazarus and oNe claim spots in Americas Minor North America Closed Qualifier

Lazarus cruised into the Closed Qualifier, while oNe played two close series on their way to the Closed Qualifier.

Zellsis and company skated into the Closed Qualifier, only letting a single map go into double digits

The first Americas Minor qualifier has ended, with Lazarus and oNe claiming spots in the Closed Qualifier.

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The day started off with a forfeit as Hentai Hooligans conceded their match against Peeker's Advantage. Dust2.us was told that the team forfeited due to "insky" having to work, and the rest of the team treating the preceding matches as fun practice.

As for the first real match of the round of sixteen, New Identity made quick work of Onyx, dispatching the Advanced team in a quick 16-4 victory on Mirage. The next match to conclude was between Lazarus and Big Frames, where the Advanced team fell 16-9 despite an 8-7 T-side on Inferno.

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Lowkey handily took down South American EPL squad Infinity on Nuke, beginning with a perfect 15-0 CT-side. After the sides switched, Infinity were able to find a few rounds of their own, but eventually fell 16-4.

In a Brazilian bout, oNe were able to find a quick 16-8 victory over Main team New England Whalers. As for Royal, the mix-team were dispatched with little trouble by Good Game PR, with Riley "Reality" Fusch putting up a 1.66 rating in a 16-9 finish on Train.

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The final two matchups of the round of sixteen saw Thunder Logic's woes continue as they were handed a 16-12 loss to Sadbots on Inferno. As for The Quest, they comfortably bested fulfill 16-9 on Nuke, although it is worth mentioning that the team used coach Kieran "KJ" Playfair in place of Nathan "leaf" Orf.

In the first matchup of the quarterfinals, Lazarus continued their dominant form, making quick work of Sadbots with a 16-8 victory on Nuke.

Best of one map Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 Lazarus 16 - 8 Sadbots de_nuke 16 - 8 de_nuke

Although Lowkey showed up in a big way against Infinity, they appeared to run out of steam against The Quest, with the MDL side starting off Overpass 10-5 on their CT-side. After transitioning onto their T-side, The Quest continued to put up a strong performance advancing to the semi-finals with a 16-8 map score.

Best of one map Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 Lowkey 8 - 16 The Quest de_overpass 8 - 16 de_overpass

The third quarterfinal matchup resulted in one of the largest upsets of the qualifier, with Peeker's Advantage shockingly dropping Inferno 11-16 to Good Game PR. After initially struggling on their T-side, once Good Game PR switched to their CT-side they absolutely foiled Peeker's Advantage's efforts to take map control, with the MDL team only planting the bomb once. Chase "lowrider" Releford played a large role in Good Game PR's upset, with the player putting in a 26-16 K-D alongside a 1.53 rating.

Best of one map Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 Peeker's Advantage 11 - 16 Good Game PR de_inferno 11 - 16 de_inferno

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In the final quarterfinals matchup New Identity and oNe faced off on Overpass to determine which team would meet upstarts Good Game PR in the semifinals. On their CT-side New Identity started the action off by claiming five out of the first six rounds before oNe were able to find six rounds in a row to take the lead. The two teams would then continue to trade rounds with the Brazilians ending the half slightly ahead 8-7.

Switching sides, oNe and New Identity continued to trade rounds until round 22 when oNe were able to claim the next four rounds to put the map on match point 15-10. New Identity would claim the next five rounds to take the action to overtime, but in the end oNe would best the North Americas 22-20 after two overtimes.

Best of one map Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 New Identity 20 - 22 TeamOne de_overpass 20 - 22 de_overpass

The first semifinal saw Lazarus and The Quest face off on Dust2 and Nuke. The Quest started off the series in the lead by ending their T-side with a 9-6, and continuing to claim rounds after switching to their CT-side. After this, Lazarus were able to mount a major comeback, taking Dust2 16-14 by claiming the last three rounds in a row to keep The Quest off map point.

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Nuke was not as close of an affair, as Lazarus got off to an extremely strong start by claiming nine out of the first ten rows to put The Quest immediately in danger of conceding the map and the series, ending the half 10-5. Moving onto their CT-side Lazarus picked up the next six rounds in a row to close out the series 16-5, earning themselves a spot in the Americas Minor Closed Qualifier.

Best of three maps Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 Lazarus 2 - 0 The Quest de_dust2 16 - 14 de_dust2 de_nuke 16 - 5 de_nuke de_overpass de_overpass

The last match of the qualifier saw unlikely finalists Good Game PR face off against oNe. With the action starting on oNe's map pick of Train, the Brazilian squad looked ready to roll over the American underdogs as they closed out their CT-side up 11-4, and then quickly finished the map 16-5 in their favor.

With oNe appearing in great form, it looked as if Good Game PR's map pick would go the same way of Train, but the North American team shocked as they played a loose puggy style on their T-side that allowed them to end the first half of Overpass in the lead 9-6. Switching sides, oNe's greater level of experience shined through as they were able to close the deficit and eventually force the map onto match point 15-13.

Owing to some great plays by "Asuna" and lowrider, Good Game PR forced oNe into overtime with the team looking to head to a third map. It was not meant to be though as oNe and Bruno "b4rtiN" Câmara were able to overtake Good Game PR and close out the series with a 19-16 finish. b4rtiN, oNe's newest member, stepped up in a big way, putting up a 1.21 rating on Overpass to help push the team over the edge.

Best of three maps Americas Minor North America Open Qualifier 1 - StarLadder Major 2019 Good Game PR 0 - 2 TeamOne de_train 5 - 16 de_train de_overpass 16 - 19 de_overpass de_nuke de_nuke

With the first open qualifier in the books, there are only six spots left for teams looking to fight their way to the StarLadder Berlin Major. Be sure to check out the Dust2.us Calendar to keep up to date and register for the upcoming open qualifiers.