Giants qualify for BLAST Pro Series Madrid Play

Giants have booked their spot in the offline final of the BLAST Pro Series Madrid Play-In stage after beating Queso 2-1 in the online qualifier.

The four-team Play-In qualifier came to a close with a mouth-watering Iberian showdown between Giants and Queso, who had reached this stage after beating Cream and Dragons, respectively, in the first round, both by 2-0 scorelines.

The grand final began on Vertigo, a map that will be making its first appearance at a BLAST event in Madrid. With Carlos "⁠sc4rx⁠" Sánchez leading the charge (1.44 rating, 100 ADR), the Spanish team were able to win their pick before Giants responded on Inferno after coming back from 8-12 down thanks to a strong CT side display.

fox's Giants will take on Movistar Riders in Madrid for a BLAST spot

It all came down to Dust2, where the first half ended with a narrow 8-7 lead in Giants' favour. The Portuguese side came from the break with fire in their bellies and brought the scoreline to 14-9. Queso still attempted a response, but a comeback was not in the cards as Giants secured back-to-back rounds to put the series to bed.

BLAST Pro Series Madrid 2019 Play-inBest of 3 QuesoMatchpage 1 2 17th April 2019 Giants 16Vertigo 14 14Inferno 16 12Dust2 16

Queso	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Omar 'arki' Chakkorarki	66 - 59	+7	76.0	1.12
Pere 'sausol' Solsona Saumellsausol	68 - 68	0	83.8	1.08
Carlos 'sc4rx' Sánchezsc4rx	56 - 59	-3	78.5	1.05
Michal 'EMENK' BelejEMENK	57 - 62	-5	73.4	1.02
Peter 'shhhack' Belejshhhack	50 - 58	-8	57.7	0.85

Giants	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ricardo 'fox' Pachecofox	68 - 57	+11	84.4	1.24
Christopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesMUTiRiS	67 - 66	+1	83.0	1.13
Luís 'ZELIN' LousadaZELIN	60 - 54	+6	71.3	1.10
Ricardo 'roman' Oliveiraroman	61 - 61	0	82.0	1.09
Joao 'KILLDREAM' FerreiraKILLDREAM	50 - 59	-9	63.9	0.87

Giants will be taking on Movistar Riders at the Play-In Finals, which will be held in Madrid on May 10, right before the BLAST Pro Series event kicks off. The two Iberian giants will be facing off in a best-of-three clash, with the winner securing entry into the main tournament, in which they will join the likes of Astralis and Natus Vincere.

This will be the first LAN tournament of the year for Giants, who recently brought Joao "⁠KILLDREAM⁠" Ferreira back after previously benching him to make way for Luís "⁠ZELIN⁠" Lousada. However, all eyes will be on veteran Ricardo "⁠fox⁠" Pacheco, who seems to have rediscovered his best form. The 32-year-old has averaged a 1.13 rating in the last three months and was the highest-rated player in the Play-In stage at 1.43.

Joao 'KILLDREAM' Ferreira Age: 26 Team: Giants Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 373 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.70 Dragons #227 Juan 'meisoN' Carlos ChacónFrancesc 'donQ' Savall GarciaVictor 'xikii' GarcíaRajohn 'EasTor' LinatoAlfredo 'enanoks' Alvarez Cream #232 Sergio 'sergi' Araque CebriánFrancisco 'Zorrele' Rosa EgeaJon 'jonba' BaraiazarraJavier 'Vasili' Huélamo GraciaTomás 'Ergasster' Perez Giants #101 Ricardo 'fox' PachecoChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraJoao 'KILLDREAM' FerreiraLuís 'ZELIN' Lousada Ricardo 'fox' Pacheco Age: 32 Team: Giants Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 756 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.68 Movistar Riders #48 Aitor 'SOKER' FernándezOscar 'mixwell' CañellasAlejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoRaúl 'DeathZz' Jordán Nieto Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Luís 'ZELIN' Lousada Age: 25 Team: Giants Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 290 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.66 Carlos 'sc4rx' Sánchez Age: 23 Team: Queso Rating 1.0: 0.94 Maps played: 67 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.69 Queso #121 Omar 'arki' ChakkorPeter 'shhhack' BelejMichal 'EMENK' BelejCarlos 'sc4rx' SánchezPere 'sausol' Solsona Saumell Natus Vincere #3 Ioann 'Edward' SukharievDanylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoEgor 'flamie' VasilyevOleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' Sharipov