Twisted Minds Defeat Ooredoo Thunders to Secure BLAST Paris Asia RMR Spot

Twisted Minds win the Middle East closed qualifier lower bracket
They dominate their opponents 2-0 on Overpass and Anubis
The teams for the Major-qualifying event in Ulaanbaatar are all set

After suffering a loss to Invictus International, Twisted Minds was sent to the closed qualifier lower bracket but still managed to qualify for the Asia RMR by defeating Ooredoo Thunders.

Twisted Minds Wins Lower Bracket

Preparations for the upcoming BLAST Premier Paris CS:GO Major are underway. And while drama surrounds BLAST management due to some controversial recent decisions, the Middle East closed qualifier has concluded, determining the teams that will continue forward.

The upper bracket of the event saw Invictus International emerge victorious on Saturday to secure a spot in the Asia RMR. Meanwhile, the closed qualifiers’ lower bracket saw Twisted Minds advance forward by defeating Ooredoo Thunders 2-0. This marks the second time Twisted Minds triumphs over Ooredoo Thunders, having gone up against them in the upper bracket semi-final, winning Inferno 16-10. However, the majority-Syrian roster was sent to the lower bracket by Invictus International, forcing the team to once again go up against Ooredoo Thunders.

Speaking of Ooredoo Thunders, the team had managed to recover from their initial loss to Lobanjica's men by securing 2-0 victories over GhostFaces and Divine Vendetta in the lower bracket. However, the international roster once again faltered when it went up against Twisted Minds in a rematch, fighting for a place in the RMR itself.

Their Syrian-majority opponents didn’t have many difficulties closing out the series in two maps, dominating on their opponent's pick of Overpass 16-7 before taking their own pick of Anubis over the line, 16-12. Twisted Minds owe a lot of their success to Ahmad “⁠SpAwNns⁠” Kanaan, the 24-year-old player being a menace for Ooredoo Thunders across the two maps played. He ended the series with an impressive 1.43 rating and 92.2 ADR, thanks to him marking 22 kills on each of the maps.

This was the last of the closed qualifiers that offered spots at the Asia RMR. The teams that will compete in the Major-qualifying event that will take place between April 4 and 8 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, are as follows: