Jordan Woodruff
There were three upsets in the first day of Stage 3 competition at the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major on Thursday in Germany.
BetBoom Team defeated The MongolZ 2-1, 9z Team did the same against PARIVISION and Team Spirit blanked Natus Vincere 2-0 among the day’s eight matches.
The MongolZ, PARIVISION and Natus Vincere were among eight teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 of the competition. Spirit and 9z began in Stage 2, while BetBoom had to scrap through Stages 1 and 2 to get this far.
Now the losing sides will move into the Round 2 low matches, while the eight winners advance to the Round 2 high matches.
Sixteen teams left standing are competing for their share of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament’s $1.25 million prize pool with the grand final scheduled for June 21. The champion receives $500,000.
Stage 3 utilizes a Swiss System format and all matches are best-of-three. The top eight finishers will proceed to the playoffs next week.
On Thursday, The MongolZ pulled out a 13-11 win on Dust II before BetBoom rallied with a 13-6 victory on Mirage and a 13-11 result on Ancient. Timur “FL4MUS” Marev led the all-Russian BetBoom squad with 54 kills.
9z blasted PARIVISION 13-1 on Overpass and absorbed a 13-8 defeat on Dust II before clinching the win 13-9 on Inferno. Argentina’s Luciano “luchov” Herrera went wild for 9z, with twice as many kills (70) as deaths (35) to earn a 2.00 match rating.
Spirit trounced NaVi 13-1 on Dust II and finished things up 13-8 on Anubis. Russia’ Danil “donk” Kryshkovets had 38 kills and a 1.98 match rating to pace Spirit.
Five teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 won their openers. MOUZ swept Legacy, FURIA blanked B8 and Aurora Gaming shut out Monte, 2-0; Team Vitality rallied past FUT Esports 2-1; and Team Falcons did the same against G2 Esports.
Stage 3 continues Friday with eight matches:
Round 2 high matches
–FURIA vs. MOUZ
–Team Falcons vs. BetBoom Team
–Aurora Gaming vs. Team Spirit
–Team Vitality vs. 9z Team
Round 2 low matches
–The MongolZ vs. B8
–FUT Esports vs. G2 Esports
–PARIVISION vs. Monte
–Natus Vincere vs. Legacy
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000
5-8. $45,000
9-11. $15,000
12-14. $15,000
15-16. $15,000
17-19. $10,000 — paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG
20-22. $10,000 — MIBR, M80, Astralis
23-24. $10,000 — GamerLegion, FlyQuest
25-27. $5,000 — Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid
28-30. $5,000 — THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC
31-32. $5,000 — Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports
–Field Level Media
