The Fateful Eight: Blast.tv Paris Major Champions Stage Preview

After the two intense stages, we are finally at the last stage of the final CS:GO major. The Blast.tv Paris Major Champions stage kicks off today. After two weeks of competition, only eight teams survived. These eight teams will play the single-elimination stage to crown the final CS:GO major champion. 

Blast.tv Paris major Legends stage recap:

A total of 16 teams played the legends stage, with eight qualified directly through the RMRs. Eight more teams joined them, qualifying through the challengers' stage. The sixteen teams played the Swiss format legends stage. The first two teams to qualify were Heroic and Vitality which qualified as the 3-0 teams taking down Faze, Apeks, and Liquid and G2, ENCE, and Monte respectively. 9ine and FURIA were the first teams to get eliminated from the legends stage as the 0-3 teams.

The next three teams to get eliminated were G2 Esports, ENCE, and Bad New Eagle. The loss was especially hard on Niko and Co. The legendary rifler ends his CS:GO career without a major trophy. Team Liquid, Monte, and GamerLegion became the next three teams to qualify. Despite a bad 0-2 start in the challengers' stage, Liquid bounced back to qualify for the champions stage.

The final round had Apeks taking on Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic taking on Into the Breach, and Faze Clan taking on Natus Vincere. Apeks dominated Ninjas in Pyjamas, winning their fixture 2-0 to qualify for the champions stage. Faze Clan reverse-swept Natus Vincere and won the final map in overtime to eliminate s1mple. Finally, the newcomer Into the Breach eliminated Fnatic. The fixtures gave us the final three teams for the champions stage.

Paris Major Champions stage preview and predictions:

The eight teams will be seeded into the single-elimination bracket. The top-seeded teams will take on the bottom-seeded teams. The top-seeded teams, Heroic and Vitality, take on Faze Clan and Into The Breach. GamerLegion takes on Monte, and Team Liquid takes on Apeks. You can check the complete bracket here.

Credits: Blast.tv

Currently, the two teams running for the major trophy and having the biggest chance are Team Vitality and Heroic. Vitality thrives on Zywoo's star power, while Heroic is all about teamwork. Both teams starting on the opposite side of the bracket will directly meet in the finals. In that case, the finals will be a rematch of the recent IEM Rio LAN finals.

Heroic faces Faze Clan in the opening match. Despite the shaky performance, Faze Clan cannot be underestimated and will pose a threat to Heroic. Monte themselves have a great team, but lack of experience might lead to their downfall in the major. Team Liquid is another dark horse in the tournament, and they have recently been looking good. The other teams have displayed immense talent, but the lack of experience might lead to their demise.

The Blast.tv Paris Major champions stage starts tomorrow. Blast will broadcast the champions' stage on Twitch and Youtube. The streams will be available in English, Russian, French, and more. You can also follow the Major on Strafe with Live Scores, In-app competition, Streams, and more.

Credits: Blast.tv