New OG dominates LA Major qualifiers while some big names lose
Most of the open qualifiers for the ESL One Los Angeles Major have wrapped up. A number of notable teams were doomed to be eliminated from the proceedings, but there were still a surprising number of high-end squads that washed out.
Among the teams that fell short of the regional qualifiers are Godsent, T1, Winstrike Team. B8, and Cloud9. This cuts them out of both the StarLadder Season 3 Minor and the ESL One Los Angeles Major.
Godsent had an unfortunately difficult run in the European open qualifiers. The organization was doomed to face some stiff opponents but while one would have expected OG or OG Seed to have been the ones to deal the killing blow, it was instead the recently formed Chicken Fighters.
While the loss is undoubtedly disappointing, there’s no shame in it. Chicken Fighters boasts a number of proven talents, most notably former Natus Vincere captain Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev and former J.Storm support Milan “MiLAN” Kozomara. Though Godsent might have been able to defeat them in a best-of-three setting, the one-and-done nature of the open qualifiers didn’t give them a chance to recover.
In Southeast Asia, two newly formed teams fell short. Cloud9 returned to Dota 2 with a new international roster and was looking for a strong start in open qualifiers. Instead, they were eliminated by the unknown Thai team Motivade.Trust Gaming. T1 formed a new international roster of its own for the qualifiers and the new international squad performed better than any other iteration of the team. That wasn’t enough to get them in the regional qualifiers, as they fell to Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong and Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung’s IO Dota2.
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s B8 organization made its official debut in the ESL One Los Angeles Major CIS open qualifiers. They were hit by late roster changes just days before the qualifiers began but managed to make a deep run. They fell in the semifinals to the surprisingly strong Modus Unity, who earned a spot in the closed qualifiers.
Winstrike Team had arguably the most talented roster of any team in the open qualifiers next to OG. Despite being comprised of alumni from Virtus.pro and Gambit Esports, the team fell short against a squad of journeymen in EXTREMUM.
OG, OG Seed clear ESL One Los Angeles open qualifiers
The open qualifiers are finished in five regions. The biggest name to watch throughout was OG, who debuted their heavily overhauled roster in the European open qualifiers. The team had little trouble punching a ticket to the closed qualifiers and made that journey alongside sister squad OG Seed, which is largely comprised of former members of Complexity Gaming.
Both teams have a tough journey ahead, however. There are only three spots in the ESL One Los Angeles Major up for grabs, and one more in the StarLadder Season 3 Minor. With Team Secret, Team Liquid, Alliance, and Nigma also in the hunt, there just aren’t enough to go around.
The regional qualifiers are set to begin in all regions except China on February 9. China’s qualifiers were delayed until February 12 due to travel restrictions surrounding the coronavirus.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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