SCARZ Absolute stun VG.Flash; Renegades beat B.O.O.T

SCARZ Absolute and Renegades are through to the Group A winners' match at the Asia Minor after moving past VG.Flash and BOOT-d[S], respectively.

The opening match in London, pitting a VG.Flash side with a stand-in against a SCARZ Absolute team attending their first Minor, began with the Japanese squad strolling to a 5-0 lead on the Terrorist side with a series of fast executes.

VG.Flash then finally got on the board after denying a 1v3 clutch from Tomoaki "⁠crow⁠" Maruoka, and they followed that up with another round. SCARZ Absolute responded with a straight B push, setting themselves up for another great run and an 11-4 half.

SCARZ Absolute through to the winners' match

VG.Flash came from the break a much livelier side and won seven of the first eight rounds of the half, bringing the deficit to a solitary round. SCARZ Absolute would not let the game slip away, however, and tightened up their defence. With Koji "⁠Laz⁠" Ushida stepping up with the AWP, the Japanese side put together a string of rounds to seal a convincing victory in London.

Asia Minor - FACEIT Major 2018Best of 1 VG.FlashMatchpage 11 16 16th July 2018 SCARZ Absolute 11Mirage 16

VG.Flash	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
KunHua 'LOVEYY' BaiLOVEYY	21 - 18	+3	77.3	1.16
YuLun 'Summer' CaiSummer	16 - 20	-4	71.9	0.99
WeiJie 'zhokiNg' ZhongzhokiNg	15 - 20	-5	74.6	0.90
Zhenghui 'z8z' Liuz8z	17 - 20	-3	60.1	0.86
WingHei 'Freeman' CheungFreeman	16 - 22	-6	68.8	0.76

SCARZ Absolute	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Tomoaki 'crow' Maruokacrow	26 - 16	+10	101.1	1.45
Koji 'Laz' UshidaLaz	23 - 16	+7	84.3	1.27
Shibasaki 'poem' Yumekipoem	18 - 18	0	77.4	1.13
Takemori 'takej' Shogotakej	16 - 17	-1	72.0	1.06
Ryo 'barce' Takebayashibarce	17 - 18	-1	66.6	1.04

The following match, headlined by Renegades, began with some stunning individual actions, the first of which from Benedict "⁠Benkai⁠" Tan, who clutched a 1v2 in the pistol round with a CZ spraydown to put BOOT-d[S] in the lead. After buying in the third round, the Australians got on the board for the first time thanks to a quad-kill from Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad, who would follow it up with a 1v3 clutch.

Renegades took advantage of BOOT-d[S]'s poor economy and jumped out to a three-round lead. But the rest of the half was all about the Singaporeans' water-tight defence as they shut down any chances of Renegades stringing rounds together, bringing the deficit to 7-8.

jkaem led the Renegades to a convincing win

The Australian team further added to their lead after taking the pistol round and went on another streak to increase their lead to five. A triple kill from Nevin "⁠splashske⁠" Aw then gave BOOT-d[S] their first round of the half, but Renegades immediately regained control of proceedings, stringing four rounds together en-route to a comprehensive win.

Asia Minor - FACEIT Major 2018Best of 1 RenegadesMatchpage 16 8 16th July 2018 BOOT-d[S] 16Train 8

Renegades	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostadjkaem	27 - 17	+10	113.8	1.76
Noah 'Nifty' FrancisNifty	18 - 12	+6	75.5	1.30
Justin 'jks' Savagejks	18 - 13	+5	80.8	1.24
Karlo 'USTILO' PivacUSTILO	18 - 16	+2	80.3	1.22
Aaron 'AZR' WardAZR	13 - 13	0	63.2	1.02

BOOT-d[S]	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nevin 'splashske' Awsplashske	20 - 18	+2	84.5	1.07
Benedict 'Benkai' TanBenkai	15 - 17	-2	77.3	0.91
Anthony 'ImpressioN' LimImpressioN	15 - 20	-5	79.4	0.83
Leslie 'Bobosaur' SoenBobosaur	13 - 19	-6	67.1	0.66
Kumaresan 'Tommy' RamaniTommy	8 - 20	-12	52.6	0.46

Benedict 'Benkai' Tan Age: 21 Team: BOOT-d[S] Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 371 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.67 Koji 'Laz' Ushida Age: 22 Team: SCARZ Absolute Rating 1.0: 1.22 Maps played: 149 KPR: 0.82 DPR: 0.61 Renegades #13 Justin 'jks' SavageAaron 'AZR' WardJoakim 'jkaem' MyrbostadKarlo 'USTILO' PivacNoah 'Nifty' Francis Tomoaki 'crow' Maruoka Age: 20 Team: SCARZ Absolute Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 152 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.68 BOOT-d[S] #50 Nevin 'splashske' AwBenedict 'Benkai' TanAnthony 'ImpressioN' LimKumaresan 'Tommy' RamaniLeslie 'Bobosaur' Soen Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad Age: 24 Team: Renegades Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 657 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.69 SCARZ Absolute #126 Koji 'Laz' UshidaTomoaki 'crow' MaruokaRyo 'barce' TakebayashiShibasaki 'poem' YumekiTakemori 'takej' Shogo BOOT-d[S] #50 Nevin 'splashske' AwBenedict 'Benkai' TanAnthony 'ImpressioN' LimKumaresan 'Tommy' RamaniAlikhan 'w1nt3r' Kopzhanov VG.Flash #53 YuLun 'Summer' CaiYuanZhang 'Attacker' ShengWeiJie 'zhokiNg' ZhongKunHua 'LOVEYY' BaiWingHei 'Freeman' Cheung Nevin 'splashske' Aw Age: 19 Team: BOOT-d[S] Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 379 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.67