Eternal Fire, 9 Pandas qualify for PARI Please playoffs

Movistar Riders and PARIVISION have been eliminated in joint-last place.

The second day of PARI Please has concluded, with 9 Pandas and Eternal Fire securing spots in the playoffs of the $100,000 event. The Russian squad moved past MIBR to place first in their group, while Eternal Fire demolished FURIA to come out on top in Group B.

Conversely, Movistar Riders exited the tournament after placing last in their group. The Spanish squad lost to BetBoom and MIBR in an unsuccessful debut with David "⁠dav1g⁠" Granado Bermudo in the IGL role, but they can find some solace in the fact that both losses came in three maps.

PARIVISION, who were the lowest-ranked team in attendance, have also been eliminated after they suffered one-sided losses to Eternal Fire and Aurora.

Day two of PARI Please began with MIBR vs. 9 Pandas, and the match was smooth sailing for the Russian squad. Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin and company plowed through the Brazilian team in two maps by stealing away Ancient (13-5) before finishing the job on Anubis (13-7) to secure their spot in the playoffs.

Aleksandr "⁠glowiing⁠" Matsievich was the star of the show with a 1.70 rating, helping his team become the surprise fixture of the PARI Please final four.

The second game was the elimination match between Movistar Riders and BetBoom. The Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov-led squad came into the tournament as the highest-ranked team but faced an early exit after an opening loss against 9 Pandas.

The series started badly for the Russian squad as they lost their pick of Ancient, with Aleksandr "⁠KaiR0N-⁠" Anashkin the only player that provided any resistance against the Spanish side. Things picked up on the second map, Anubis, where Aleksandr "⁠zorte⁠" Zagodyrenko put up a 156 ADR and helped his team secure a 13-3 drubbing to force out a Nuke decider.

BetBoom started on the Nuke offense and put together an imperious 9-3 half that put them in the driver's seat for victory. A second-half pistol put them on match point, and while they had some trouble closing out the game, Danil "⁠danistzz⁠" Roslyakov's triple proved enough to get BetBoom over the line.

Next up was the Group B winners' match between FURIA and Eternal Fire. The teams sit beside each other in the world rankings at No. 15 and 16, and the matchup was expected to be an even affair. The first map of the series was anything but close, however, as Eternal Fire demolished the Brazilians on Overpass with a 13-4 scoreline.

Vertigo followed the same storyline as Overpass in the opening exchanges. FURIA found themselves 0-6 down before Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos and Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato turned a 2vs5 to flip the game's momentum in their favor. The round proved pivotal and helped the Brazilians tie up the scores at seven, but Eternal Fire stood strong and batted away FURIA's comeback attempt to secure a 13-7 victory alongside a playoff spot.

PARIVISION vs. Aurora ended the day, a match where Andrey "⁠Jerry⁠" Mekhryakov faced off against his former teammates Evgeny "⁠Norwi⁠" Ermolin and Aleksandr "⁠KENSI⁠" Gurkin. It was the disciples who came out on top against the master on the first map, as Aurora overcame a slow start to tie up the half on Ancient before a strong T-side helped them cruise to a 13-7 victory.

PARIVISION came out swinging on Nuke and racked up 11 straight rounds before Aurora got on the board and avoided a 13-0. That seemed to have given them a second wind as they clawed back at the deficit to find themselves just four rounds away from overtime. Despite their struggles, PARIVISION did enough to close out the game 13-9 and force out the decider of Overpass.

Aurora were back to their best on the third map and comfortably dispatched PARIVISION with a 13-6 scoreline to secure their spot in Saturday's decider match.

Two pivotal group decider games are on the agenda for the third day of PARI Please. FURIA are set to clash with Aurora at 15:00 before BetBoom face off against MIBR at 18:00 for the final playoff spot.

Date	Matches
PARI Please 2023
18/11/2023	FURIA 15:00 Aurora	Match
18/11/2023	MIBR 18:35 BetBoom	Match