B8 defeat VP to continue upset run at EU RMR

The Ukrainians are the surprise of the tournament so far, defeating MOUZ and Virtus.pro to join the 2-0 pool.

B8 got their second upset win of the RMR by defeating Virtus.pro on Ancient with a 16-14 scoreline. The victory puts the Ukrainian side in the 2-0 bracket alongside Natus Vincere, meaning they are just one BO3 win away from securing a Paris Major spot.

On the other side of the server, Virtus.pro will be massively disappointed after losing a match against a team ranked 34 places below them in the world ranking. They now drop down to the 1-1 bracket, where they will play one more BO1.

B8 are seemingly a team that comes alive in the Major circuit, drawing comparisons with the Vega Squadron team of yesteryear, having narrowly missed out on an IEM Rio Major spot last time around after a deciding loss against GamerLegion condemned them to a 2-3 record.

This time, they will have three chances in the BO3 format to secure a spot. Given the less-stacked nature of the first EU RMR, they are no doubt licking their lips at the prospect of qualifying for Paris. Denis "⁠amster⁠" Liashenko talked about their expectations for the remainder of the tournament in a post-match interview: "We expect that we can beat any team and lose to any team," he reflected. "The RMR in Malta gave us a lot of confidence, and here we feel confident and I think we have good chances to qualify for Paris."

The opening match of the 1-0 pool was played on Ancient, with Virtus.pro allowing the map to be played despite B8 showing their prowess on it against MOUZ in their opening round victory. B8 got off to an electric start and raced to a 9-1 lead on their T side, before Virtus.pro came back into the game to reduce the deficit to 6-9 at halftime.

Virtus.pro took that momentum and won seven out of the eight rounds at the start of the half to go up 13-10, but the Ukrainian side didn't give up. Artem "⁠r1nkle⁠" Moroz started to shine on the server and got his team back ahead at 14-13. He then won a crucial 1vs1 clutch to put B8 on match point, which they were able to close out despite their lack of experience and book their place in the 2-0 pool of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Europe RMR A.