FaZe qualifies for Major, BIG officially out

With the PGL Singapore Major less than a month away, the qualifying picture is starting to solidify.

Today, October 29th, has been especially big for the European qualification picture. Both Stake Ranked and RLG Tesla are going on at the same time, which has given us definitive movement on the VRS ladder. The headline news, of course, is that FaZe has officially qualified for the Major with invite #15.

After missing the previous one, this was an absolute must for the organization.

We all know FaZe isn't exactly wealthy at the minute, and missing another cycle of sticker revenue could've spelled doom for a brand synonymous with Counter-Strike Esports. It's kind of interesting how they got here, since it's easy to argue they're worse than they were when they missed Cologne. The team has just become much better at "farming" the VRS system, and their result at RLG Tesla is just another example. Finishing third isn't great, but it was enough.

Plus, it still takes skill to put up a baseline performance; not everyone can do that.

Speaking of which, BIG.

Their season has been nothing short of a disaster for the organization. They haven't had a truly successful event this season. While FaZe at least had the Roman Imperium Cup, the crowning achievement for the Germans is… third place at 1win Private Club? It's bare. A crying shame for an organization with a storied history in Counter-Strike. But they seem too stuck in the past to move forward. All the best German talent is elsewhere, including Krimbo, whom they had and fumbled.

As for the rest of the EU VRS race, it's starting to become a clear picture.

1win is pretty much safe, and fnatic would have to seriously mess up to miss out, so that's spots #16 and #17 down. The final final place also seems to have been pulled out of contention. It seemed to have become a bit of a race between HOTU and 100 Thieves, but HOTU then won RLG Tesla, and now they're over 70% likely to qualify.

It's not over yet, but it's becoming pretty clear which teams will represent EU in stage 1 of the Major.

Now time will tell if any of them will actually play well there.