magic have eliminated 9z from the Esports World Cup, taking wins on Ancient and Inferno either side of a Dust2 loss to reach the playoffs in Paris. HLTV, which reported the series, characterised it as a long slog and a memorable upset.
The result is a hard one for 9z to absorb. The South American side made the top eight at the IEM Cologne Major and won XSE Pro League a month ago, and were on course for a top-five spot in the Valve Regional Standings. HLTV noted they now enter a busy stretch of tier-one events hoping the exit does not cost them momentum.
magic, by contrast, keep climbing. Since a top-four finish at PGL Astana announced them, the roster has added a second-place finish at Stake Ranked and can now attach another top-tier playoff berth to a short but rapidly growing record.
Three maps, three different games
Ancient was the closest of the three. Neither side asserted control, and magic leaned on Andrey "AW" Anisimov and Nikita "tenzy" Kochenyuk while 9z answered with a broader team effort. magic looked to have taken the map late in their CT half at 12-8, only for 9z to win four rounds in a row and force overtime.
magic led for most of the extra rounds. Clutch rounds and an ace from Ignacio "meyern" Meyer kept 9z alive, but magic eventually forced the map over the line to go ahead in the series.
9z had a smoother time on Dust2. They worked through resistance from Svyatoslav "MaSvAl" Masko and tenzy on the B bombsite to take a 7-5 lead into the second half, then converted a force-buy win in the second round of their CT half on the way to 12-6. Individual moments from magic hinted at a comeback before a meyern multi-frag ended it and sent the series to a decider.
Inferno was streaky, with both teams doing their damage on the CT side. magic raced into a large first-half lead as AW and tenzy repeated their Ancient form, then watched 9z dominate their own defence with slick crossfires to level at 9-9. magic had marginally more left, and did enough in the chaotic late rounds to clinch a 13-11 win.
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