VENN Invitational reaches playoffs as Extra Salt, paiN top group stage

High Coast were the most notable team who were eliminated ahead of the playoffs.

Extra Salt, paiN, ChocoCheck, and Triumph have secured playoff berths in the VENN Invitational, the North American regional qualifier for the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown.

As with the other regional BLAST qualifiers, eight teams were drawn into two best-of-one GSL groups, with Extra Salt continuing to dismantle their domestic competition as they eased past Levitate and High Coast in Group A to secure a semi-final spot.

Extra Salt continue to put on a masterclass in North America

The former Rebirth lineup, now known as ChocoCheck, were the second team to advance from Group A as they saw to the elimination of both Levitate and High Coast, edging past the the latter team in a closely contested 16-13 affair on Dust2.

The second day of the tournament saw the Brazilians of paiN book the first spot out of Group B, securing two Inferno victories over Recon 5 and Triumph to set up a match against ChocoCheck in the semi-finals.

Alan "⁠Shakezullah⁠" Hardeman's side were able to claim redemption as they put up a dominant 16-2 scoreline in the Group B decider match against RBG to claim the final spot among the top four, but will be faced with a tall task on the final day of the tournament as they have been drawn up against Extra Salt, who have lost only one of their last nineteen match-ups since adding Edgar "⁠MarKE⁠" Maldonado.

Group A TEAM M P Extra Salt 2 6 ChocoCheck 3 6 High Coast 3 3 Levitate 2 0 Group B TEAM M P paiN 2 6 Triumph 3 6 RBG 3 3 Recon 5 2 0

The playoff stage will unfold in its entirety on Sunday, awarding the grand final champion with $25,000 and a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. The schedule for the day looks as follows:

21:00 Extra Salt - Triumph (BO3)
23:59 ChocoCheck - paiN (BO3)
03:00 Grand final (BO3)

Levitate #81 Christopher 'Swahn' SwahnDavid 'Delta9' ShaferNicholas 'hate' YoungSam 'Noxio' GoodwinAndrew 'Ghostii' Kehler RBG #48 Kyle 'Wolffe' GreenfieldColby 'Walco' WalshJerric 'wiz' JiangJadan 'HexT' PostmaConnor 'chop' Sullivan Troy 'ara' Pollock paiN #29 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoWesley 'hardzao' LopesRodrigo 'biguzera' BittencourtRafael 'saffee' Costa Bruno 'ellllll' Ono Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Extra Salt #21 Aran 'Sonic' GroesbeekEdgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoJohnny 'JT' TheodosiouJosh 'oSee' OhmJustin 'FaNg' Coakley High Coast #32 Rodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoIan 'motm' HardyBen 'ben1337' SmithJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueBrandon 'bew' Roberts Joseph 'Muenster' Lima Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado Age: 22 Team: Extra Salt Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 691 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.65 ChocoCheck #52 Christopher 'cJ dA K1nG' JonesZack 'XotiC' ElshaniSebastian 'retchy' TropianoDanny 'Cxzi' StrzelczykCarson 'nosraC' O'Reilly High Coast #32 Rodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoIan 'motm' HardyBen 'ben1337' SmithJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueBrandon 'bew' Roberts Extra Salt #21 Aran 'Sonic' GroesbeekEdgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoJohnny 'JT' TheodosiouJosh 'oSee' OhmJustin 'FaNg' Coakley Tiaan 'T.c' Coertzen Triumph #44 Alan 'Shakezullah' HardemanAustin 'Cooper' AbadirDavid 'cynic' PolsterBrendan 'Bwills' WilliamsWesley 'viz' Harris Marcos 'tacitus' Castilho Triumph #44 Alan 'Shakezullah' HardemanAustin 'Cooper' AbadirDavid 'cynic' PolsterBrendan 'Bwills' WilliamsWesley 'viz' Harris Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman Age: 23 Team: Triumph Rating 1.0: 0.93 Maps played: 543 KPR: 0.61 DPR: 0.64 Recon 5 #56 Dominick 'JazzPimp' DimpfelTyler 'tweiss' WeissAustin 'AAustiN' UrbKoby 'kobruh' HiggsDylan 'SATURN' Finch paiN #29 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoWesley 'hardzao' LopesRodrigo 'biguzera' BittencourtRafael 'saffee' Costa RBG #48 Kyle 'Wolffe' GreenfieldColby 'Walco' WalshJerric 'wiz' JiangJadan 'HexT' PostmaConnor 'chop' Sullivan