AVANGAR, Team Vitality and Astralis secured their spots in the New Champions Stage of the StarLadder Berlin Major on Saturday, winning their Round 4 "high" matches in the tournament's New Legends Stage. MIBR, FaZe Clan and North were eliminated from the event after Round 4 losses in the stage.
The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event includes 16 teams in the second phase, with the Swiss format beginning with eight single-game matches determined by seeding from the first phase. Round 4 matches were best-of-three series for teams playing in "high" and "low" matches, with losers from the low matches facing elimination from the tournament.
AVANGAR faced off against G2 Esports in Friday's first "high" match and lost 16-9 on Dust II to open the best-of-three series. AVANGAR rallied back, winning 16-11 on Inferno and 16-9 on Overpass to take the series 2-1.
Vitality had an easier time of it against mousesports, recording a 2-0 sweep with a 16-5 win on Vertigo followed by a 16-10 victory on Mirage.
Astralis survived a three-map battle against CR4ZY, beating them 16-11 on Inferno to start the series. CR4ZY rebounded with a hard-fought 31-29 overtime win on Dust II but ultimately fell 2-1 as Astralis triumphed with a 16-5 win on Vertigo.
In Saturday's low matches, Natus Vincere dispatched MIBR with a 16-11 win on Mirage and a 16-4 win on Inferno. Renegades sent off FaZe with a 2-1 series win, battling to a 22-19 overtime win on Mirage before falling 16-3 on Nuke. They wrapped with a narrow 16-14 win on Vertigo.
Team Liquid swept North in the day's final match, taking Mirage 16-12 and winning Dust II 16-6.
Round 5 continues Sunday with best-of-three matches. G2 will face Renegades, Team Liquid will play mousesports and Natus Vincere will battle CR4ZY in that slate.
The top eight teams will move on to the New Champions Stage, set for Sept. 5-8, featuring the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, with all matches being best-of-three. The bottom eight teams will be eliminated.
The championship team will receive $500,000, and the runner-up will pocket $150,000.
-- Field Level Media