It's time for the second day of the Six Invitational 2023 playoffs. Today, eight teams will be sent home in what is set to be a heartbreaking day for many fans.
Heroic vs. Spacestation Gaming
The first match of the lower bracket will be between Heroic and Spacestation Gaming, as both squads will meet in a do-or-die series.
Heroic lost yesterday against another North American League roster, Oxygen Esports. Before, the European team struggled against the North American League teams of M80 and DarkZero Esports during the group stage, which gives reason to believe that Heroic could struggle against the astronauts as well.
However, Spacestation Gaming's group stage numbers have not been encouraging at all. As reflected in our Group A roundup article, they have had a huge problem when attacking. The Americans only won six rounds out of a possible 30 on the attack against the top three sides in Group A, KOI, w7m esports, and G2 Esports.
The winner of this game will face M80 in the second round of the lower bracket at 4PM (-5 GMT).
G2 Esports vs. FaZe Clan
G2 Esports and FaZe Clan will meet today as they clash for the first time since the Six Berlin Major. Back then, FaZe Clan won the first match by a 7-3, margin while G2 Esports won the last one flawlessly.
G2 Esports fell to the lower bracket yesterday after a brutally close defeat against Wolves Esports, losing both maps 7-8. To their credit, they have not looked poor in this tournament but have underperformed in the most important moments.
Against Wolves, the team choked a 5-2 advantage on Chalet and could only get to maximum overtime on Kafe thanks to Benjamin "Benjamaster" Dereli and Jack "Virtue" Brennan's clutches.
Meanwhile, FaZe Clan have been extremely inconsistent at the Six Invitational, having done well against DarkZero Esports and Team Secret, but poorly against Heroic and M80. The team is still adapting to Victor "VITAKING" Augusto's vision of the game, as he has been rotating roles with Leonardo "Astro" Luis.
DarkZero Esports will face the winner of the series, which is expected to kick off at 4PM (-5 GMT).
Soniqs vs. Astralis
Soniqs' first Six Invitational 2023 match against a regional opponent didn't end well.
Ben "CTZN" McMillan struggled for most of the series against DarkZero, who they had picked to play, as Pablo "Gryxr" Rebeil and Richie "Rexen" Coronado had to save the Soniqs on multiple occasions to keep their team alive.
Now, Soniqs will face Astralis, who had an extra day of preparation. On top of that, Soniqs' record against today's opponents isn't encouraging, as Astralis won every match played against Soniqs this season -- 7-1 in Stage 1, 8-7 in Stage 2, and 7-3 in Stage 3.
Soniqs or Astralis will play against LOS oNe in the final set of matches of the day, as the winner will advance to the third round of the lower bracket.
Team BDS vs. Team Liquid
Coming into the Six Invitational 2023 as two of the favorites to lift the hammer, Team BDS and Team Liquid will meet in the first round of the lower bracket. It will be the first time that both teams meet since the Frenchmen's victory at the Six Jönköping Major.
Although both teams are in a critical situation where losing isn't an option anymore, Team BDS look less shaky heading into the match. Despite a tame performance against w7m esports, Stéphane "Shaiiko" Lebleu and Théo "LikEfac" Mariano are still the deadliest duo in the competition.
The ease at which the Frenchmen secure kills will could be lethal with Liquid's poor form. So far, only Pablo "resetz" Oliveira has been hitting his shots for Team Liquid, with Luccas "Paluh" Molina, Gabriel "AsK" Santos, and André "NESKWGA" Oliveira struggling massively.
The winner of this clash will play at 7PM (-5 GMT) against MNM Gaming.