Fnatic stuns MVP.Phoenix (3:0), qualify for EPICENTER Moscow

Left without their captain’s guidance until Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung recovers from undisclosed health issues, Fnatic thrived last night, in the EPICENTER Moscow SEA qualifiers. The Malaysians managed to sweep MVP.Phoenix, 3:0, to secure a spot in the EPICENTER Moscow closed qualifiers, scheduled to take place in Moscow, on May 9th.

Southeast Asia is the first and only region to have completed the online qualifiers so far. Fnatic has earned a spot to represent SEA in the offline qualifiers, in Moscow, after taking down the Korean team MVP.Phoenix, 3:0, in the regional qualifiers’ Grand Finals.

The Chinese, American and European qualifiers are still underway.

EPICENTER Moscow will take place between May 9th-15th at the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow. Six invited teams – Team Secret, Team Liquid*, OG, Evil Geniuses, Virtus.Pro, and Alliance – and two qualified ones will compete for a total prize-pool of $500,000.

*On March 9th – five days after the EPICENTER Moscow LAN was announced – the organizers decided to revoke EHOME’s direct invite, due to the team’s recent roster changes. EHOME was replaced by the Shanghai Major runner-up squad, Team Liquid.

The two qualified teams will earn a place beside the six directly invited ones in the main event if they manage to come out on top in the regional qualifiers first and then cruise through the closed qualifiers to be held offline at a prestigious hotel in Moscow, on May 9th. Four regional representatives will compete for the two spots available in the group stages and main event.

EPICENTER Moscow format

May 9th – Offline Qualifier

• Held at a prestigious hotel in Moscow.
• One team from each region will participate.
• Four teams will compete for the two spots available in the group stage.

May 10th-11th – Group Stage

• Eight teams will compete – six invited teams and two coming from the offline qualifiers.
• Top two teams from each group will advance into the Upper Brackets of the main event.
• Bottom two teams from each group will start the main event in the Lower Brackets.
• The group stages will be closed to the public and, just like the offline qualifier, they will be held at a prestigious hotel in Moscow.

May 12th-15th – Main Event

• All series will be best-of-three.
• The Grand Finals will be best-of-five, with not Upper Bracket advantage.
• The main event will take place at the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow. Tickets will go on sale in early April.

Crocus City Hall

Crocus City Hall is a multi-faceted venue, located in the 3rd pavilion of Crocus City in Moscow, Russia. It has a seating capacity of more than 7000. The arena is equipped with a state-of-the-art acoustic system.