Six Mexico Major: Key takeaways from Day 2

^{Banner image: Ubisoft/Kirill B.}

If day one of the Mexico Major had been wild, day two was reality-melting. On this day, we all bowed down and accepted our APAC overlords. Here are the winners and losers of the day, the statistics that defined the day, and three matches to watch tomorrow. 

Winners and Losers

Winners

The entire APAC region

The Japanese side of CYCLOPS athlete gaming has impressed even the staunchest APAC haters with its play thus far. A stomp of Team oNe early in the day, followed by a slamming of Soniqs gave CAG a 2-0 result, six points in the group, and potentially a spot in the playoffs.

CAG had been heralded as a dark horse team, but dark horse teams aren’t expected to dominate as CAG has, its loss to BDS aside.

Invictus had a hell of a day as well. The Singaporean side controls its own destiny heading into the final day of the group stage, which is far more than many other teams can say. It’ll be completely on its match against Team Empire to decide who goes to the playoffs, with an overtime win enough for iG. 

DWG KIA is turning its group on its head as well. The Koreans took down NiP, the reigning SI champions, in a best of one, did it again, andbeat G2 the day before. They’ve earned themselves a seat at the table for the playoff qualification conversation. APAC as a whole is having arguably their best top-to-bottom tournament of all time. 

DarkZero Esports

This is a bit of a hold-over from day one, but DarkZero is the other team completely surpassing expectations. Led by Nick “njr” Rapier’s day one onslaught, DarkZero has effectively locked itself into a top two finish and a playoffs spot.

An overtime defeat of G2 and a solid 7-4 victory over a surging DWG KIA has put the North Americans in the drivers’ seat in their group and it is unlikely they will be dislodged. 

Losers

Natus Vincere

Much to our surprise, NAVI was the first team knocked out of the Mexico Major. Yes, they had a smaller group by numbers, and therefore a much smaller margin of error than teams in other groups, but an early exit is an early exit. Many had expected more from the Brits, who had looked strong in their macro play but had made too many small mistakes that lost crucial rounds. 

TSM

Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles said it best: fate is cruel. Bryan “Merc” Wrzek’s absence surely hurt this team, but TSM should’ve been better than this. TSM, before this event, was one of the most consistent teams in the world. While a playoff miss is understandable, four regulation losses and zero points after two days is not. 

Stats of the day

Paluh’s sheer brilliance steals the day

Paluh leads the Major in four of the six main statistical categories measured by SiegeGG. He’s leading in K/D ratio, entry +/-, KOST, and SiegeGG Rating with a 1.57 to boot. There’s really not much else to say: Paluh is currently the best player in the world, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon.

CATsang comes in from the cold for huge wins

CATsang’s first game of the Major was the victory over NiP: CATsang had been sidelined with an undisclosed illness, but came back just in time for arguably DWG KIA's biggest game of the tournament -- an 8-7 upset over NiP.

That form continued, as DWG repeated the upset on the same map against NiP right after, this time recovering from a 1-5 deficit.

Matches to watch on Day 3

Invictus Gaming vs Team Empire

Many had thought it would have been TSM and Team Empire fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but the Singaporean side has shocked the “Siege” world. Invictus controls its own destiny. An overtime victory over Team Empire will all but ensure that the Southeast Asians will escape the group of death with their lives. 

Team oNe vs CAG

Team oNe kept its playoff hopes alive, but it will need a regulation time win over CAG to keep itself alive at the Major. Finally, this group of young Brazilian stars seems to have woken up, but is it too late? The all-Japanese CAG team is playing fast and furious and might make the playoffs should it keep this train rolling.

DarkZero vs NiP

Based on how these two teams have played in the group stage, this could be a preview of a playoff match. NiP needs to wake up, and DarkZero was never asleep. Look to this match to be similar to these teams’ first interaction: an overtime barn-burner. NiP needs a regulation win here to stay alive.