PGL Cluj-Napoca is heading to its first deciding matches after another action-packed day came to a close.
No more wrist issues for Senzu, combat AWPing and all.
After round two at PGL Cluj-Napoca—actually taking place in Bucharest before the playoffs—four teams now find themselves on the brink of playoffs and four on the precipice of elimination.
Eternal Fire get the short end of the stick
Three of the four highest-ranked teams have advanced to the qualifying matches, with MOUZ, The MongolZ, and FaZe sitting pretty at 2-0.
The fourth, Eternal Fire, got the short end of the stick. The Turks got matched up against FaZe due to the January 6 seeding, which didn’t take into account their impressive form, and came up short in a competitive rematch from Katowice.
The MongolZ found Wildcard a tough nut to crack, as Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz’s team was in a winning position on both maps but couldn’t convert 11-4 and 10-8 leads. There were plenty of positives to take away for the favorites, as Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar looked more like his old self after his recent hand injury, now averaging a 1.31 rating after four maps in Bucharest, a stark contrast to his Katowice form.
Complexity’s curse continues
Complexity’s new lineup with rookies Nick “nicx” Lee and Danny “Cxzi” Strzelczyk has met some fierce competition so far in its existence, but despite looking competitive they are still yearning for a map win after five series.
Against Virtus.pro, they nearly recovered a 3-9 deficit on Inferno with a superb CT side but couldn’t quite bring it over the finish line at 12-11, ending up with an overtime loss en route to yet another 0-2.
Imperial Valkyries in freefall
Another team yet to get a map win in their tier-one journey are the Imperial Valkyries. The women’s team showed enough promise to quell the doubters at first, but the same voices have now grown strong again after Ana “ANa” Dumbravă and company couldn’t win more than five rounds per map in their last three series.
At PGL Cluj-Napoca, where they came in as a replacement for FURIA two weeks ahead of the start, they are now on the brink of another early elimination after convincing losses to Eternal Fire and MIBR.
