Eight CS:GO teams qualified for the Legends Stage of the IEM Rio Major, but only one did it with a negative round difference.
While seven teams maintained a positive round difference, one European team stood out. Fnatic advanced to the Legends Stage with a 3-2 record but had a -13 round difference, according to HLTV.
Fnatic struggled in their best-of-ones with hard-fought wins. They defeated Cloud9 and OG in lengthy games, beating the former 19-17 and the latter 16-13.
In their best-of-three against MOUZ, Fnatic were handed 16-8 and 16-9 defeats while only taking one map 16-9. The series leading to this stat, however, was their match against Outsiders. In their 0-2 loss to the CIS side, they fell short on Overpass, losing 16-1.
Versus 9z, Fnatic had two even games that were won with 16-11 and 16-14 results.
All the other teams who booked their place in the Legends Stage had at least a 10-round difference in the Challengers Stage. Vitality had the smallest difference since they only won 11 rounds more than they lost. The best score came from a 3-0 squad, Bad News Eagles, who secured their place in the next stage of the Major with a 34-round difference.
The Major returns tomorrow with the Legends Stage. Eight more teams will join the action, including FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, and Heroic, who each qualified directly for the second stage of the event.