Astralis qualify for regionals of IEM Rio Major

After a lot of drama, Astralis finally qualified for the regional qualifiers of IEM Rio Major 2022 in the fourth and final open qualifier for Europe. This was almost as close as it could have been. The Danes did finish this qualifier in second place, but there were many moments when their fans lost all hope in their favorite team.

We’ve yet to find out which European qualifier Astralis will be sent to after this result. Whether it’s RMR A or RMB B, the team has a good chance of finishing among the best and qualifying for the Major.

Astralis’ dramatic open qualifiers run

Astralis had four chances in total to secure a spot at one of the two European RMRs. And they almost succeeded during the first run. But, in the Round of 16, Aurora Gaming ended their run with a surprising win on Overpass: 16-11.

The second and third open qualifiers went a lot worse for the Danes, who got eliminated in the Round of 64 and the Round of 32, respectively. In both cases, the teams that put an end to their run were complete outsiders, which is why everyone was baffled.

Fourth open qualifier was a success

For the fourth qualifier, Astralis clearly came prepared and gave everything they had. Some of the teams they had to defeat along the way were competitors that had eliminated them in the previous qualifiers, which made the battles even more interesting to watch.

In the Round of 64, Astralis defeated Budapest Five, a team that’s not even in the top 150. The score was close, but the Danes eventually won 16-12.

In the Round of 32, Astralis faced Los Kogutos, the team that eliminated them in the Round of 32 of the third open qualifier. This time, the Danes did not allow their opponents to play on Ancient and won 16-12.

The Round of 16 was another tough match, won by Astralis with a score of 16-11 against BLUEJAYS. This was the last critical point in their journey as after this victory, Astralis were offered the chance to play a best-of-three match against Illuminar Gaming and felt a lot more relaxed. The scores were 16-9 on Dust II and 16-11 on Mirage.

In the semifinals, the battle was once again stressful because of the best-of-one format. But thanks to Astralis’ vast knowledge of the map that was picked (Nuke), the match ended with a quick victory in their favor: 16-9.

In the Grand Final, Astralis got defeated by SAW, but this match no longer had any relevance because the top six teams advanced to the European RMRs.

Header: Astralis