BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Day Two: Highlights & Results

The Challengers Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 is in full “blast” ! CS:GO fans worldwide are witnessing the best teams in the world fighting for a spot in the Legends Stage and a chance to lift the trophy at the last CS:GO Major in the history of the series.

In this overview, we will review the results of eight matches that were held on the second day of the Paris Major, rewatch and enjoy the best plays of the day, and find out who advanced to the Legends Stage.

Best-Of-One Matches (1:1)

On the second day of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challenger Stage, four Bo1 matches occurred among teams with a 1:1 record. The list of these line-ups includes:

• Complexity
• paiN Gaming
• FORZE
• Monte
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• OG

Let’s see which teams managed to get closer to their slots in the Paris Major Legends Stage and which ones took a step back, ending up with a 1:2 win record.

Complexity vs. paiN

The second day of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challenger Stage kicked off with a best-of-1 match between Complexity and paiN on Nuke. In the past three months, both teams played a significant amount of games on this map.

paiN Gaming had a great start while defending and finished the first half of the map leading 12:3. After switching sides, they only let Complexity secure one round, finishing the map with a 16:4 score and continuing their run in the Challengers Stage with a 2:1 win record.

Romeu ‘zevy’ Rocco from paiN Gaming was recognized as the Player of the Match due to his incredible performance and 1.73 rating.

Grayhound vs. TheMongolz

Simultaneously with the match between Complexity and paiN, Grayhound played against TheMongolz on Nuke, one of the signature maps for both teams. Prior to this match, Australians had an 83% win rate on it, while the Asian team had only a 67% win rate.

The Mongolian team struggled with attacking and won only five rounds while playing in the first half on the T side. Even though the battle seemed more even in the second half, Grayhound managed to secure their win with a 16:10 score.

An astonishing performance from Joshua ‘INS’ Potter granted him the Player of the Match title. Check out his 1 versus 2 clutch on the T side.

FORZE vs. Monte

FORZE and Monte both ended Day 1 of the BLAST.tv Paris Major Challengers Stage with one win and one loss. Prior to this match, teams played against each other five times, and only once did FORZE emerge victorious.

Anubis was left over during the pick & ban stage, and FORZE was the first in line to attack. They did a great job in the opening rounds and managed to end the first half with a 12:3 score. Monte tried to perform a comeback by winning the first three rounds after switching sides. However, they were defeated with a 16:6 score shortly after.

Aleksandr ‘shalfey’ Marenov turned out to be the Player of the Match today.

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. OG

The match between Ninjas in Pyjamas and OG was the last Bo1 match of the BLAST.tv Paris Major Challengers Stage and the first one that was led to overtime.

NiP faced OG on Mirage, started as defenders, and managed to win only four rounds. After switching sides, they won eleven rounds and secured their chance at making a comeback in overtime. Only one set of overtime was needed to determine the winner, and Ninjas in Pyjamas won the match by 19:17.

Based on the votes, Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner was acknowledged as the Player of the Match.

Not only did Ninjas in Pyjamas take one more step toward the Paris Major Legends Status, but they also broke the record of the most maps played at CS:GO Majors, surpassing Natus Vincere. Congratulations!

Best-Of-Three Matches: Who Advanced to Legends Stage?

Four teams that finished the first day of the Challengers Stage with a 2:0 win record fought each other to proceed to the Legends Stage with a clean 3:0 score. These teams were ENCE, FaZe Clan, Apeks, and G2 Esports. Let’s find out who came out of the battle undefeated.

Apeks vs. G2

The first Bo3 series of the BLASt.tv Paris Major Challengers Stage occurred between Apeks and G2 Esports. It was the first time these teams played against each other. Here is how the pick & ban stage went:

• Apeks removed Nuke
• G2 removed Overpass
• Apeks picked Anubis
• G2 picked Inferno
• G2 removed Ancient
• Apeks removed Vertigo
• Mirage was left over

The first map of the series was Anubis, picked by Apeks, with G2 starting on the CT side. The fight was intense in the first half, Apeks took a one-round lead. In the second half, it did not take long for G2 to secure the map win after a series of successful attacking rounds. Hooxi’s team won with a 16:11 score.

During Inferno, Apeks struggled on the CT side, winning only two rounds in the first half. Shortly after switching sides, G2 defeated their opponents with a 16:3 score, securing the series and the Legends Status.

ENCE vs. FaZe Clan

The second Bo3 series of the day that had to determine another Paris Major Legend team was played between ENCE and FaZe Clan. Here is the list of the maps that were picked and banned:

• FaZe removed Vertigo
• ENCE removed Inferno
• FaZe picked Overpass
• ENCE picked Nuke
• ENCE removed Mirage
• FaZe removed Ancient
• Anubis was left over

Things kicked off on Overpass, where CS:GO fans witnessed intense and exciting plays by both teams. The first half ended with a 9:6 score for FaZe Clan, which they then transformed into a 16:12 win.

Even though ENCE lost the first three rounds on Nuke, which they picked, players still performed incredibly on the T side, winning eleven others. FaZe Clan tried to pull a comeback after switching sides, but they did not manage to do so. ENCE won Nuke with a 16:13 score.

After the score was tied, Anubis was next in line to determine the winner. ENCE won the first half of the map by a narrow margin of one round but then rapidly secured one round after another after switching sides, leaving no chance for FaZe Clan to make their move. ENCE won Anubis with a 16:8 score and qualified for the Legends Stage with a 3:0 record.

Best-Of-Three Matches: Who Was Eliminated?

Once all the Bo1 matches ended, and ENCE with G2 Esports secured their Legends Status, it was time to move on to the elimination matches. Four teams that ended the first day of the Challengers Stage with two losses were GamerLegion, MOUZ, Fluxo, and Team Liquid. Let’s find out the first teams that were eliminated from the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

GamerLegion vs. MOUZ

The first eliminating series was held between GamerLegion and MOUZ. Here are the maps that were picked and banned prior to this Bo3.

• MOUZ removed Anubis
• GamerLegion removed Inferno
• MOUZ picked Mirage
• GamerLegion picked Overpass
• GamerLegion removed Nuke
• MOUZ removed Vertigo
• Ancient was left over

The game started on Mirage. GamerLegion took a one-round lead by the end of the first half and then finished the map with a 16:12 score.

On Overpass, GamerLegion dominated the battlefield on both sides, securing the map with a 16:5 score and the series 2:0.

MOUZ was the first team to be eliminated from the Challengers Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

Fluxo vs. Team Liquid

In the last match of the Challengers Stage Day 2, Fluxo and Team Liquid fought for a chance to stay in the race to the Legends Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

• Fluxo removed Anubis
• Liquid removed Vertigo
• Fluxo picked Nuke
• Liquid picked Inferno
• Liquid removed Mirage
• Fluxo removed Overpass
• Ancient was left over

Nuke is one of Fluxo’s signature maps. Brazilians played it eighteen times in the past three months and had a 78% win rate, so it is not surprising that they won it in the match against Liquid with a 16:11 score.

There was a well-balanced yet still intense competition between the teams on the second map of the series, Inferno. Fluxo had a one-round lead by the end of the first half, but they started having trouble after switching sides. Liquid won Inferno with a 16:14 score.

The decider map was Ancient, and it was quite a long-lasting battle that the American team won with a 16:13 score.

Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis was announced as the Player of the Match. Team Liquid will continue to fight for a slot in the BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends Stage and Fluxo concluded their first-ever Major appearance with a disappointing 0:3 record.

To Wrap Up!

The second day of the BLAST.tv Paris Major Challengers Stage is over. By the end of it, G2 and ENCE secured their Legends Status, while MOUZ and Fluxo were eliminated from the event, saying goodbye to their chance of competing for the last CS:GO Major championship title. In case you missed all the action of the very first Paris Major day, take a moment to check out our overview .

The Challengers Stage will last until May 11th, so follow our blog to stay tuned about everything that is happening at the Paris Major and beyond. Explore more interesting articles about CS:GO skins and other cosmetics, in-depth game guides, and esports news. See you on the server!