Day four of the CS:GO StarLadder Berlin Major concluded with the elimination of three more teams. These teams have dropped out of Major contention after only putting up one win throughout the group stage.
The first to be eliminated today were returning Legends MIBR, who had to play with coach Wilton “zews” Prado in place of the recently released Marcelo “coldzera” David. MIBR is headlined by CS:GO veterans Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, who’ve made play-off appearances together at every Major since ESL One Katowice 2015. Expectations were decidedly low for MIBR in Berlin considering their recent loss of coldzera, the former best player in the world. They took only one win in the Legends Stage, defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas on day one. They then took three consecutive losses to ENCE, G2, and Natus Vincere to be eliminated from the tournament. MIBR’s next showing will come at BLAST Pro Series Moscow, where they are rumored to field Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe on the starting roster.
The second team to be dropped from Major contention today was FaZe Clan, who’ve been dealing with their own roster troubles throughout 2019. FaZe came into the Berlin Major as returning Legends after making it to the quarter-finals of IEM Katowice earlier this year. This elimination ends Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer’s streak of Major play-offs appearances, with this being the first ever time that he will not be competing in a Major’s play-off stage. FaZe Clan have struggled to find their form after the removal of in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen late last year. The team took their first win of the Legends Stage on day one, defeating karrigan's own mousesports. That would be their only win, as they then took a loss to Vitality before suffering two more unexpected losses to CR4ZY and Renegades. FaZe Clan’s next showing will be at ESL One New York in late September.
The final team to be eliminated today was North, who’ve been climbing up the rankings in recent months. Now under Valdemar “valde” Bjørn Vangså’s leadership, the team appeared to have found their form. North powered through the Challengers Stage without taking a loss, though they seemed to stumble once they reached the Legends Stage. The team suffered consecutive losses to Vitality and mousesports before finally getting a win over Ninjas in Pyjamas on day three. A floundering Team Liquid stood ahead of them today, though North was still outmatched and lost the series 0-2. North has struggled at Majors in the past, failing to qualify for both FACEIT London and IEM Katowice. Their last Major play-offs appearance came at PGL Krakow 2017, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. North’s next showing will be at DreamHack Masters Malmö in early October.
There is one day left of the Berlin Major’s group stage, where the final three teams will be eliminated before the play-offs. The Champions Stage will begin on September 5th.