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Betclic Apogee Esports emerged victorious against Team Nemesis with a 2-0 win on Saturday, October 17th, in the upper bracket semi-final 1 of the PGL Bucharest Closed Qualifier 2026. Despite being considered the underdog, Betclic Apogee delivered a surprising performance.
The two teams settled the best-of-three series in just two maps. Betclic Apogee secured the first map after 46 minutes and then sealed the series with a win on the second map after 51 minutes. Team Nemesis, who had to go to a deciding map in the quarter-finals against Nuclear TigeRES, did not have the opportunity to force a third map.
Rank 124 Defeats Rank 16
Team Nemesis entered the qualifier as the clear favorites, holding the 16th position in the Elo power rankings with a rating of 1799 and a record of 87-47 in 134 rated matches. In contrast, Betclic Apogee was ranked 124th with a rating of 1621 and a record of 43-44 in 87 rated matches.
Despite their previous struggles, Betclic Apogee managed to turn their fortunes around in a week. After losses to several teams, including Sangal, NIP, and Astralis, they started their Bucharest qualifying journey by narrowly defeating Eternal Fire 2-1 in the upper bracket quarter-final 1, and now have secured two consecutive series wins.
On the other hand, Team Nemesis had a mixed performance, with victories over HOTU and Nuclear TigeRES at the CIS LAN Championship Season 8 before facing setbacks against K27 and Sinners. Their journey in the qualifier included a narrow win over Nuclear TigeRES in the upper bracket quarter-final 2.
BBL and ex-RUSTEC Advance to the Other Semi-Final
The other upper bracket semi-final witnessed a close battle, with BBL defeating ex-RUSTEC 2-1 after sweeping EYEBALLERS 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
In the lower bracket, Eternal Fire suffered another loss, this time to Nuclear TigeRES after their defeat against Betclic Apogee. EYEBALLERS managed to secure a 2-1 victory against GamerLegion in the lower bracket opener, who had previously been defeated by ex-RUSTEC.
The qualifier will continue until October 20th, leaving little room for error for the remaining teams.
Spirit Academy Upcoming Match on Monday, October 19th
Betclic Apogee has a packed schedule. In addition to their current run, they are set to face Spirit Academy in the Stake Ranked Episode 6 closed qualifier on Monday, October 19th.
For a team that was struggling recently, this busy schedule is a welcomed challenge. With back-to-back wins in the upper bracket, including a victory against a top-16 team, Betclic Apogee has quickly changed their fortunes over the weekend.
Also Read: BBL secures a 2-0 victory against EYEBALLERS to set up a clash with ex-RUSTEC in the PGL Bucharest qualifier
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