ATK’s CS:GO squad fights through the Middle Eastern Open Qualifier for ESL One Rio

South African esports fans will have not one, but two local teams to cheers on during the Middle Eastern Closed Qualifier for ESL One Rio 2020 next month. Yesterday (16 February), ATK Arena’s newly formed CS:GO squad managed to make it through the gruelling Open Qualifier and now, they have secured their spot in the Middle Eastern Closed Qualifier that will take place in Dubai on from 5 to 7 March 2020. They join Goliath Gaming as the second local squad to qualify for the tournament.

ATK’s CS:GO squad Open Qualifier

For those who couldn’t catch the action live, you can still watch the ATK CS:GO squad make their way through some exciting matches in the Middle Eastern Open Qualifier over on the ESL CS YouTube channel.

For those who don’t know, the Middle Eastern Open Qualifier had two spots in the Closed Qualifier, with a single-elimination bracket. Even more daunting is that the first two matches are BO1. That didn’t scare the team from South Africa as they showed the international competition how strong they really are.

ATK faced off against Meraki esports on Inferno in the first round on Inferno and crushed their opposition 16-3. In the next round, ATK played against Team Rapid.CS on Inferno yet again. This was the most nailbiting match for the team, as they narrowly closed out the match with a 19-17 win.

In the finals with a spot in the Closed Qualifier on the line, ATK played against GamingHub. The final was BO3, but ATK only needed two maps to secure their spot in the closed qualifier. On Mirage, ATK’s CS:GO squad managed to beat their opponents convincingly with a 16-7 win. On Train, ATK beat Gaming Hub 16-9.

A big congratulations go out to ATK’s CS:GO team for winning the Middle Eastern Open Qualifier and securing their spot. We had a recent interview with their team captain, Gareth ‘MisteM’ Ries, which you should definitely check out to learn more about the team.

Header image courtesy of ATK Arena.