BIG’s Major Invite Hopes Now Depend on Stake Ranked Episode 5
The 2-0 result lifted BIG's simulated invite chance from 18% to 37%, while Alliance fell below 1% and Liquid were eliminated.
BIG’s Major invite hopes now run through Stake Ranked Episode 5 after the team finished third at 1win Private Club Season 2 in Belgrade. Coach Sebastian “xenn” Hoch said BIG likely need to win the next event, or finish second while relying on other teams to fail, to qualify for PGL Major Singapore.
BIG had briefly improved their outlook with a 2-0 win over The MongolZ on Oct. 20. HLTV’s day-two invite simulation raised BIG’s projected chance from 18% to 37%. That was an interim estimate. BIG later lost a rematch against The MongolZ and finished third.
In an interview with HLTV after the loss, xenn said BIG had hoped to finish at least second in Belgrade to give themselves more room in the qualification race. He described the defeat as damaging and said the team needed to reset mentally before the next tournament. In his understanding of the VRS standings, a second-place finish at Stake Ranked Episode 5 could still leave BIG dependent on other results.
xenn described BIG’s Belgrade campaign as two good days followed by two poor ones. Against PARIVISION, the team struggled despite preparing for the opponent and recognizing its likely moves. Communication broke down even when BIG had the information needed to read the play. Their Cache was strong, but they did not sustain that level across the series. xenn also credited 910 with a strong performance.
The earlier win over The MongolZ did not settle BIG’s consistency problem against top teams. xenn called that first meeting a fantastic performance, but said communication faltered and sloppy mistakes hurt BIG in the rematch, when they failed to punish their opponents’ reactions.
Stake Ranked Episode 5 gives BIG another route into the Major, but xenn described the field as tough. BIG’s bracket opens against magic, with fnatic and Astralis also among the opponents in the tournament.
Other day-two results also changed the invite picture. PARIVISION beat fnatic 2-1 after losing Cache 10-13, taking Ancient 13-10 and Inferno 16-14 in overtime. fnatic’s simulated invite chance fell from 48.3% to 21.7%. Alliance finished last after a 0-2 loss to PRIVATE, following an earlier defeat to The MongolZ. Its fourth straight series loss dropped its simulated chance below 1%, from 10%. At that point, a title at RLG Tesla Cup was Alliance’s only remaining path to keep its hopes alive, and it would still need other teams to falter.
Liquid were eliminated after losing 0-2 to magic, having also failed to take a map from fnatic. Liquid let a 10-3 lead slip away on Dust2 against magic, but remain in no danger of losing their Major invite. They are due to open against MOUZ at PGL Masters Bucharest on Oct. 24.
How much room does BIG have to recover at Stake Ranked Episode 5 after its third-place finish? Follow the Major race and BIG’s next qualification run through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
