The first qualification for ESL One: Road to Rio 2020 began over 3 weeks ago with teams competing for ranking points in order to in order to establish a qualification order.
The qualification process is split among 6 different regions with all the top teams participating. We bring you the latest developments on the CIS and Europe region.
1. CIS- 30th April- 17th May
The CIS region features 12 teams divided into two groups of 6 each. CIS heavyweights and the former #1 team Natus Vincere were obviously the favorites to win the competition. While there were some formidable teams in the form of Virtus Pro to challenge them for the title, Na’Vi were heavy favorites to win.
But what we saw in the group stages was something next to impossible. Na’Vi finished bottom of the group, yep you read that right! Bottom of the group managing to win only 2 out of their 5 games. While “s1mple” did perform to his best, he had no support from his teammates.
With Na’Vi out of the picture Virtus Pro took the top spot and qualified directly to the grand finals. Hard Legion and Syman Gaming are the two other teams to have secured their place in the playoffs from Group B.
Na’Vi have put themselves in a tricky position now and will have to play to their potential in the next two qualifying stages.
Coming over to Group A, forZe LUKOIL were expected to take the top spot but like Na’Vi they failed to qualify for the playoffs. Team Spirit showed some great from and remained unbeaten in the group matches. Their 5-0 win-loss record puts them directly into a semifinal spot. Nemiga and Winstrike Team were the other two teams to qualify for the playoffs.
Gambit Youngsters, Team Unique, Espada and pro100 were the other teams to be eliminated after the group stage ended.
The playoffs will happen in the coming week with Team Spirit and Virtus Pro looking most likely to win. But as already seen in the Road to Rio qualifying event a upset is never out of the cards, so do not count any of the teams out. With qualification on the cards, teams are expected to give their all on the Road to Rio .
| Standings | Teams | W-L |
| 1. | Team Spirit | 5-0 |
| 2. | Nemiga | 3-2 |
| 3. | Winstrike Team | 3-2 |
| 4. | forZe LUKOIL | 2-3 |
| 5. | Gambit Youngsters | 2-3 |
| 6. | Team Unique | 0-5 |
| Standings | Teams | W-L |
| 1. | Virtus.pro Parimatch | 3-2 |
| 2. | Hard Legion Esports | 3-2 |
| 3. | Syman Gaming | -2 |
| 4. | pro100 | 2-3 |
| 5. | ESPADA | 2-3 |
| 6. | NAVI.1X Bet | 2-3 |
2. Europe- 22nd April- 17th May
The most stacked region of the qualifying was the EU region, with 16 teams divided into 2 groups of 8 each fighting to secure RMR points on their Road to Rio. ESL Pro League season 11 finalists Fnatic and Mousesports spearheaded the two groups and were expected to qualify for the playoffs.
But it seemed like they had taken foot off the peddle and played some light counter strike. Both of these team failed to qualify for the playoffs. While some upsets were bound to happen, no one expected the top 2 teams in the world to not qualify for the next stage.
Astralis and Ninja in Pyjamas were in top from though, both winning 6 out of 7. There were some up and down for Team Vitality but they managed to qualify with 4 win. Ence after their struggles in 2020 played some good counter strike to secure the last qualifying spot from the group.
In the other group, it was all Faze. They went spotless during the group stages winning all of their 7 games. G2 Esports came in second winning 5 while North who played with their coach “jumpy” as a stand in for the last two matches also qualified. GODSENT came in fourth to secure the last spot.
The top two teams move in to the upper bracket of a double- elimination playoff while the 3rd and 4th place teams will battle it out in a single elimination lower bracket. All playoff matches will be played in a Bo3 format except the grand finals which will be a Bo5 series. The team progressing to the finals from the upper bracket will have a one map advantage in the finals. The grand finals will end the first stage of Road to Rio qualifying with the next two events taking place in fall and summer.
The playoffs will start from Wednesday with matches for 9th-10th, 11th-12th, 13th-14th, 15th-16th places also taking place at the same time.
| Standings | Team | W-L |
| 1. | Astralis | 6-1 |
| 2. | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 6-1 |
| 3. | Team Vitality | 4-3 |
| 4. | Ence | 3-4 |
| 5. | Fnatic | 3-4 |
| 6. | Team Heretics | 3-4 |
| 7. | Complexity | 2-5 |
| 8. | Dignitas | 1-6 |
| Standings | Team | W-L |
| 1. | Faze Clan | 7-0 |
| 2. | G2 Esports | 5-2 |
| 3. | North Capegemini | 4-3 |
| 4. | GODSENT | 4-3 |
| 5. | Copenhagen Flames | 3-4 |
| 6. | Movistar Riders | 3-4 |
| 7. | Mousesports | 3-4 |
| 8. | c0ntact Gaming | 0-7 |
Which team do you think will falter on the Road to Rio and fail to qualify for the only major of 2020?
Note:- The Rio major was scheduled to take place in May 2020 but due to the ongoing pandemic the major was shifted to November 2020. The prize pool of first Major will be added to the November Major. ESL on its part have decided to host three qualification rounds in order for teams to remain at their peak. Each qualifying stage will have Regional Major Points(RMR) which will be added to determine the qualification order. Each qualifying stage will have a prize pool of $255,000 divided across the six regions. To read more about this, click here.
To know the latest update on the Asian and Oceania qualifiers, click here.
To know the latest update on the SA and NA qualifiers, click here.
