Astralis’ early exit from BLAST Open Lisbon may have cost them more than just tournament pride.
With no VRS points gained from their 0-2 loss to FaZe, the Danish squad has now slipped out of the Top 10 in Valve’s European rankings, falling to #11 behind Virtus.pro, according to HLTV.
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/disappointed-astralis-sports-director-not-good-enough-in-so-many-aspects/"]Losing valuable spot
Before the event, Astralis sat at #9 and was in a position to secure a direct invite to Phase 2 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
However, as it stands right now – unless something unexpected happens – Astralis is likely headed for the Major Regional Qualifier (MRQ), previously known as the RMR.
The cutoff for direct invites is April 7, and Astralis have no more Valve-ranked matches left to improve their standing. Some factors can work in Astralis’ favour, but the most plausible outcome will be Astralis staying outside the Top 10.
Having missed the last four Majors, Astralis now face yet another uphill battle—and the familiar frustration of having to qualify the hard way once again.
If Astralis will have to play in the MRQs, it also means that the Danes are set to miss the $600.000 event YaLLa Compass Qatar due to a schedule clash.
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/device-on-direct-major-invite-its-out-of-our-hands-now/"]The live ranking
Here’s the current VRS ranking for EU teams ahead of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, based on HLTV’s live ranking.
Stage 3 – Austin Major Stage 3 & Playoffs
- Vitality – 2046 Valve points
- MOUZ – 1923 points
- Spirit – 1915 points
- Eternal Fire – 1779 points
- Natus Vincere – 1729 points
- G2 – 1713 points
Stage 2 – Austin Major Stage
- FaZe – 1694 points
- Falcons – 1693 points
- 3DMAX – 1549 points
- Virtus.pro – 1527 points
Europe MRQ – Austin Major Europe MRQ
- Astralis – 1526 points
- GamerLegion – 1461 points
- SAW – 1341 points
- OG – 1082 points
- BIG – 1053 points
- HEROIC – 1050 points
- BC.Game – 1039 points
- B8 – 1034 points
- 500 – 1031 points
- fnatic – 994 points
- 9INE – 976 points
- 9 Pandas – 973 points
- PARIVISION – 973 points
- NAVI Junior – 952 points
- Apogee – 926 points
- BetBoom – 926 points
