Metizport have secured a spot in the $1,250,000 Counter-Strike major in Austin, happening this June.
After only narrowly making it within the realms of the Major Regional Qualifier, clinching the 27th and last spot, Metizport went into the 16-team tournament and had a dream performance.
The first match was versus Ukranian B8, and Head Coach Ahmed “abdi” Abdi were able to keep his men cool, running away from the best-of-one match with a 13-7 victory.
Next up was another best-of-one versus Belizean BC Game Esports, but this match posed no threat to the all-Swedish Metizport either – 13-8, and the team was now one best-of-three away from qualifying to the Major.
Metizport now had three chances to make it to Austin – lose one game, and they would be in the 2-1 pool, where the winners were awarded the same spot as the 2-0 pool winners. Lose another game after that, and they would be in the 2-2 pool, where another chance would be given to the six remaining teams fighting for a spot in the million dollar-tournament. However, the three winners of the 2-2 pool would not get immediately invited to the offline tournament, but instead clash in a Single-Elimination bracket for the remaining sixth Major spot.
Metizport went on to lose their first game in the 2-0 pool – a nailbiter against OG that went to three maps, and with OG running away with the last map – Inferno – with a 13-10 scoreline.
Allowing them to take one day rest, the tournament then put Metizport up against Astralis, who had been on the opposite side of the MRQ ranking – the top position ranked #11th in Europe. The best-of-three match versus the Danish squad saw hampus and his men perform in a superb fashion on the first map of Inferno, ultimately taking the map 13-9. However, on Mirage Astralis were clearly the strongest and easily swept Metizport aside, equalizing the score after a 13-7 victory.
It all came down to the last map of Ancient, where whoever won would go to the major and the loser would be forced to play in the six-team “pool-of-death” for the remaining ticket to Austin. Despite the high stakes and a 3v1 afterplant situation lost at matchpoint, Swedish In-Game Leader hampus kept cool and led his team to a fairly stable victory in the end, closing out the match 13-9 with 19 frags. With this victory, Metizport have gone 3-1 in the Major Regional Qualifier, securing the 3-5th placement and therefore a spot in the Austin Major, together with teams Nemiga Gaming and BetBoom. The sixth and last spot will be awarded to one lucky team tomorrow.
The Major qualification is extremely impactful for the organisation’s foundation going forward, but it’s also a historical feat without a doubt. Not only is it Metizport’s first Major appearance, but it’s the first time since 2019, when NiP attended the Katowice Major, that a full-Swedish squad attends a Counter-Strike Major.
Whatever celebrations already commencing in the team will not last too long – the squad is back in action tomorrow, as they are attending the $150,000 YaLLa Compass Qatar tournament running from April 17-20.
