Apeks And Monte Secure Paris Major Legends Stage Spot
After defeating paiN in the 2-1 pool, Apeks advanced to the BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends Stage. Apeks opened the match with their Ancient pick (16-11), fell short in Vertigo (13-16), and then easily won the match in Anubis (16-9). STYKO was open about how his team has been doing so far in Paris, which has included victories over teams that are ranked much higher in the world.
In a post-match interview with James Banks that was streamed, the Slovak rifler said, “It was our goal to get to the Major; everything else is a plus and this is a huge plus. The score and the performance we put on here, I also think this wasn’t a fluke; we’re at the top of our game right now“
Apeks built up a 3-1 record on route to a spot in the Legends Stage, picking up an upset over Liquid (16-12) and a 16-0 trouncing of Grayhound to be a best-of-three away from progression to the next level of play. Unfortunately, a 0-2 loss to a well-oiled G2 caused the team to postpone their celebrations because Apeks had to defeat paiN first to guarantee their place in the Legends Stage.
On their Ancient choice, Apeks got out to a fast start, giving paiN little room to maneuver as they sped to a 9-6 lead before the conclusion of their T-side effort. With brief two- and three-round sprees, the Brazilian team was able to keep the Kyxsan warriors on their toes, but they were otherwise no match as the European team won, 16-11.
Apeks had the opportunity to finish the qualification series out in two maps, with a spectacular 31-kill effort from Nawwk, who has easily been his team’s highest-rated player in Paris thus far, keeping the Brazilians honest. Nevertheless, paiN’s Vertigo selection ultimately paid off, 16-13, to necessitate a match against Anubis.
Similar to Vertigo, the two teams were closely matched for the majority of Anubis’ first half. However, kyxsan’s significant contribution—two 1vs3 clutches—proved crucial in giving Apeks a narrow one-round advantage. All of that, however, changed when it was the time of the European roster to defend. For the remainder of the half, Apeks only gave up two rounds, and as the rounds drew closer to 16, their raucous cheers became louder.
Monte overcame paiN in a close-fought series, losing Anubis (10-16) before dominating Nuke (16-1) and wrapping out the job on Mirage (16-10). New IGL Sdy was the major factor in their success, as the ex-NAVI member put up a 1.39 rating in the series to secure a Legends Stage participation for his side on their Major debut.
After two nail-biting victories over TheMongolz and paiN, Monte is able to advance to the Challengers Stage after losing on the third day of play against FaZe and FORZE.
On the other hand, the defeat puts an end to paiN’s Paris Major campaign. The Brazilian team won best-of-one matches against regional rivals Fluxo and Complexity but came up short against FaZe, Apeks, and Monte, three European teams. Zevy’s poor performance at the Major—a far cry from his 1.12 average during 2023—was a major contributing factor in their elimination.
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