Imperial seal Major spot, 00NATION knocked out of contention

Imperial ensure their participation in the PGL Major Antwerp after achieving a 3-1 record.

In the first set of matches in the fourth round, Imperial become the third team to qualify for the PGL Major Antwerp through the Americas Regional Major Ranking after overcoming Party Astronauts en route to their third RMR victory.

The roster led by Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo, known as the 'Last Dance,' have secured their place in Challengers Stage of the upcoming Major in Belgium after bouncing back from their loss to MIBR in an extremely competitive best-of-three series against Party Astronauts.

Meanwhile, 00NATION's campaign at the Americas RMR came to an end after being defeated by 9z in what was an elimination series for both teams. Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David and his side fell short of their Major aspirations after putting up a fight in a thrilling best-of-three against 9z.

Can Imperial continue their good form at the Major?

The elimination match between 00NATION and 9z kicked off on Mirage, where the latter saw immediate success and controlled the entire first half of the game, holding their opponents to a mere 3 rounds by halftime. After the switch, coldzera's side started to claw their way back into the game, but it was too little too late as 9z took the first game 16-11.

As Inferno began, Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal and company spent no time getting off to an early 3-0 lead against their opponents. 9z quickly brought both teams level on score, until a late run from 00NATION saw the Brazilian side take the lead going into the switch. The second half was as close as it could have been between the two, stretching all the way to the 30th round which 00NATION won to narrowly best 9z, 16-14.

A deciding third map was needed to determine which team will continue on in the competition. coldzera wasted no time in making his impact felt on Overpass, as his crew took an early advantage over 9z. The two squads kept it close with the Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez-led roster leading by a slender margin, up 8-7. After halftime, the first few rounds stayed close between both sides, as they reached a 10-10 stalemate. 9z then asserted their dominance in six consecutive rounds to achieve a 16-10 victory on the map and 2-1 overall, knocking out 00NATION from the RMR and Major contention.

PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Americas RMRBest of 3 00NATIONMatchpage 1 2 13th April 2022 9z 11Mirage 16 16Inferno 14 10Overpass 16

00NATION	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Mario 'malbsMd' SamayoamalbsMd	62 - 62	0	81.7	1.07
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	54 - 51	+3	76.9	1.04
Vinicius 'vsm' Moreiravsm	56 - 59	-3	72.1	0.96
Santino 'try' Rigaltry	51 - 50	+1	62.1	0.96
Leonardo 'leo_drk' Oliveiraleo_drk	40 - 62	-22	63.9	0.83

9z	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Franco 'dgt' Garciadgt	73 - 51	+22	90.3	1.31
Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalezmax	55 - 57	-2	78.6	1.14
Luca 'Luken' NadottiLuken	55 - 46	+9	70.3	1.14
David 'dav1deuS' Tapia Maldonadodav1deuS	52 - 52	0	71.5	1.08
Martin 'rox' Molinarox	48 - 58	-10	68.1	0.98

In the series which would secure one team's slot in the Challengers Stage of the PGL Major Antwerp, Party Astronauts controlled the first map of Nuke against FalleN's squad. Ben "⁠ben1337⁠" Smith's men brilliantly toppled Imperial off the back of an inspired performance from Josh "⁠PwnAlone⁠" Pigue, whose 23 kills undoubtedly proved to be the winning factor for his team.

Dust2 opened in Party Astronauts' favor, taking the first four out of five rounds played. Imperial would then fight back, attaining a score line of 8-7 after 15 rounds. As both sides resumed the game, Imperial went on a roll and never looked back, fending off a late resurgence from their North American rivals and forcing a third map after a triumphant 16-11 win.

Imperial came out of the gates swinging on Inferno, as their CT side shut out Party Astronauts' attacks, with the Brazilians garnering an impressive 11-4 lead by halftime. Despite Imperial starting their attacking side well, Party Astronauts fought back valiantly and chipped off the Brazilians' lead round after round. Ultimately, Imperial held on to their advantage and converted it into a 16-12 map, booking their place at the upcoming Major in Belgium.

PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Americas RMRBest of 3 ImperialMatchpage 2 1 13th April 2022 Party Astronauts 9Nuke 16 16Dust2 11 16Inferno 12

Imperial	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ricardo 'boltz' Prassboltz	61 - 50	+11	92.5	1.29
Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer	63 - 54	+9	77.8	1.20
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN	53 - 48	+5	68.0	1.11
Vinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoVINI	50 - 50	0	72.2	1.08
Lincoln 'fnx' Laufnx	48 - 50	-2	64.1	0.89

Party Astronauts	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Josh 'PwnAlone' PiguePwnAlone	58 - 52	+6	79.9	1.17
Jonathan 'djay' Dallaldjay	58 - 57	+1	73.2	1.01
Wesley 'viz' Harrisviz	50 - 53	-3	73.7	1.00
Jonathan 'Jonji' CareyJonji	42 - 63	-21	68.7	0.85
Ben 'ben1337' Smithben1337	43 - 53	-10	55.1	0.77

The Swiss series standings so far are as follows:

Group Swiss 3W - 0L FURIA MIBR 3W - 1L Imperial 2W - 1L Liquid Evil Geniuses Complexity São Caetano 2W - 2L Party Astronauts 9z 1W - 2L Isurus paiN Case TeamOne 1W - 3L 00NATION 0W - 3L Bad News Bears Leviatan Marcelo 'coldzera' David Age: 27 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.15 Maps played: 1403 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.62 Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue Age: 31 Team: Party Astronauts Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 870 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.63 Ben 'ben1337' Smith Age: 24 Team: Party Astronauts Rating 1.0: 0.90 Maps played: 892 KPR: 0.61 DPR: 0.69 Imperial #56 Lincoln 'fnx' LauGabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaRicardo 'boltz' PrassVinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo Party Astronauts #38 Jonathan 'djay' DallalJonathan 'Jonji' CareyBen 'ben1337' SmithJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueWesley 'viz' Harris 00NATION #73 Marcelo 'coldzera' DavidLeonardo 'leo_drk' OliveiraMario 'malbsMd' SamayoaVinicius 'vsm' MoreiraSantino 'try' Rigal 9z #45 Maximiliano 'max' GonzalezFranco 'dgt' GarciaLuca 'Luken' NadottiMartin 'rox' MolinaDavid 'dav1deuS' Tapia Maldonado Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo Age: 30 Team: Imperial Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 1526 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.60 Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez Age: 22 Team: 9z Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 519 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.66 Santino 'try' Rigal Age: 17 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 309 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.60 MIBR #28 Marcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaAdriano 'WOOD7' CeratoMatheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaJhonatan 'JOTA' Willian