The first four teams through to the ESL One Rio Europe Minor are fnatic, Complexity, Heretics, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, after they passed the upper quarter-finals in the closed qualifier.

The Frenchmen around Fabien "⁠kioShiMa⁠" Fiey continued to surprise after first taking down OG in a convincing series before also sending HEROIC to the lower bracket with another 2-0 victory, becoming the first team to clinch a spot at the Europe Minor.

fnatic followed closely behind, coming out on top of a nail-biting Swedish derby with Dignitas, which went to overtimes on the first two maps before Maikil "⁠Golden⁠" Selim's side prevailed thanks a dominant Overpass performance that saw them pick up a flawless CT side.

Complexity advanced undefeated after being invited last-minute

Having been invited as a last-minute replacement for MAD Lions, Complexity certainly took full advantage of the second chance and pulled through undefeated, as well, after securing uncontested series victories over Sprout and GODSENT.

Meanwhile, Ninjas in Pyjamas rounded out the first day successfully despite a tough start in the opening round against Apeks, who gave the Swedes a run for their money. In the upper quarter-finals, Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson's squad clinched the fourth spot over BIG, who had just returned from their successful campaign overseas in the FLASHPOINT Global Qualifier.

The first four teams advancing to the Europe Minor once again are:

Heretics
Complexity fnatic
Ninjas in Pyjamas

No one has been eliminated from the closed qualifier yet, as the lower bracket will be played out on Sunday, when the other four teams who will travel to Rio de Janeiro in late April will be found.

fnatic #4 Robin 'flusha' RönnquistJesper 'JW' WecksellFreddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonMaikil 'Golden' SelimLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin Dignitas #44 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundRichard 'Xizt' LandströmAdam 'friberg' FribergHåkon 'hallzerk' Fjærli Sprout #32 Tomáš 'oskar' ŠťastnýTimo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' HowellJosef 'faveN' BaumannPaweł 'dycha' Dycha Maikil 'Golden' Selim Age: 26 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 0.93 Maps played: 599 KPR: 0.63 DPR: 0.69 HEROIC #14 Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferCasper 'cadiaN' MøllerPatrick 'es3tag' HansenJohannes 'b0RUP' BorupMartin 'stavn' Lund Complexity #15 William 'RUSH' WierzbaKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckeValentin 'poizon' VasilevOwen 'oBo' SchlatterBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson Age: 26 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 897 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.67 Ninjas in Pyjamas #12 Simon 'twist' EliassonJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' SternerTim 'nawwk' JonassonNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora BIG #21 Johannes 'tabseN' WodarzTizian 'tiziaN' FeldbuschFlorian 'syrsoN' RischeIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşNils 'k1to' Gruhne GODSENT #18 Mikail 'Maikelele' BillJesse 'zehN' LinjalaMartin 'STYKO' StykKevin 'kRYSTAL' AmendPavle 'Maden' Bošković Apeks #66 Kristian 'akez' KornbakkErik 'truth' Hansen DyrnesHaakon 'Radifaction' TholoOle 'Marcelious' Kristian LanganSander 'Grus' Iversen Heretics #76 Fabien 'kioShiMa' FieyAlexandre 'xms' FortéBryan 'Maka' CandaLucas 'Lucky' ChastangJérémy 'jeyN' Nguyen MAD Lions #11 Lucas 'Bubzkji' AndersenFrederik 'acoR' GyldstrandRasmus 'sjuush' BeckFredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen OG #16 Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittValdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenIssa 'ISSAA' MuradMateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewski Fabien 'kioShiMa' Fiey Age: 25 Team: Heretics Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 1303 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.64