Complexity Gaming’s heroics at BLAST Premier Spring Series last weekend seemed like a distant memory after the conclusion of the final open qualifier for ESL One Rio. Heavy favorites for qualification, Complexity bombed out with a loss in the deciding game, ending their Major campaign prematurely.
The end of European open qualifiers for ESL One Rio
The fourth and final open qualifier was supposed to be Complexity’s for the taking. With the final two slots for the closed qualifiers at stake, CoL were a sure bet for one of them, right? There aren’t any safe bets in Counter-Strike and the international mixture found that out the hard way just days after doing the same to Astralis and Vitality at BLAST Premier.
Complexity were looking poised to achieve what they came for in the open qualifier. None of the opponents prior to the Bo3 were able to give them any trouble, but that led to false sense of security that ultimately enabled SMASH Esports to pull off the upset in the final game. Per old CS:GO tradition, it had to be an Inferno nail-biter to put the icing on the cake – 16:14 SMASH and no Complexity in Rio.
The second Bo3 was not short on drama itself. Copenhagen Flames won 2-0, yes, but needed to climb a mountain on the second map, being 13-4 down as Ts on Overpass. Their opponents Illuminar somehow let this one get to overtime where they were completely broken, the same way as their dreams of the closed qualifier were broken.
This concludes the open qualification cycle for the first Major of 2020. The full team list for the European ESL One Rio Closed Qualifier is as it goes:
- Fnatic
- GODSENT
- Heretics
- Heroic
- MAD Lions
- Movistar Riders
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- OG
- Dignitas
- BIG
- Sprout
- Nordavind
- Apeks
- KOVA
- Copenhagen Flames
- SMASH
The closed qualifier will be played online on March 7-8. Eight teams will advance to the Europe Minor, eight will kiss their Major dreams goodbye.
