magic rallies from 0-2 to secure PGL Astana playoff spot

magic completed a comeback from 0-2 to 3-2 in the Swiss stage of PGL Astana 2026, defeating Gentle Mates 2-0 on May 13 at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan to take sixth place and reach the event playoffs.

The team lost its opening matches to The MongolZ (May 9) and Monte (May 10) before winning against K27 2-0 on May 11 and HEROIC 2-1 on May 12. The victory over Gentle Mates was the third straight win that secured their spot in the knockout rounds.

On Mirage, magic’s offense controlled Gentle Mates’ CT side. Vitaliy ‘sFade8’ Marushka led the attack while Svyatoslav ‘MaSvAl’ Masko posted the match-high numbers with 44 kills, 25 deaths, a 100.0 ADR and a 1.67 rating. Other magic stats: ‘sFade8’ 33-33, 76.4 ADR, 1.14 rating; Andrey ‘AW’ Anisimov 36-35, 85.7 ADR, 1.12; Abdurakhim ‘mo0N’ Issa 28-23, 61.4 ADR, 1.09; Nikita ‘tenzy’ Kochenyuk 21-31, 50.5 ADR, 0.87.

Inferno went to overtime after a high-energy map in which magic shifted to aggressive, timing-based plays and frequent pushes. AW repeatedly pushed Banana on the CT side, at times moving past the bottom-Banana smoke on a pop flash to disrupt Gentle Mates. magic closed the map in overtime with two late clutches and a triple that decided the match.

Gentle Mates top performers included Pere ‘sausol’ Solsona Saumell (37-31, 87.4 ADR, 1.09) and Alejandro ‘alex’ Masanet (36-31, 75.4 ADR, 1.07). Overall, Gentle Mates were unable to stop magic’s late momentum in the decider.

On the broadcast, mo0N reflected on the qualification: ‘It means a lot for me. From 0-2 to 3-2 is amazing. I’m playing in my country, in the arena, and I have a lot of support.’

magic will appear on the main stage at the Barys Arena when the playoffs begin Friday.