Anyone looking for a Cinderella run through the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major will have to wait.
Thursday was for the favorites in Germany.
On the first day of the event’s eight-team playoff, Aurora Gaming and FURIA eliminated a pair of teams who made it on the final day of group play, advancing to face one another in the semifinals.
The Counter-Strike 2 tournament with 32 entrants competing for their share of a $1.25 million prize pool began June 2 with the start of the first stage.
The field was ultimately trimmed to the final eight playoff teams through a series of three stages, where all matches were best-of-three, as is most of the playoffs. Sunday’s grand final will be best-of-five, with the winner taking home $500,000.
Third-seeded Aurora opened the day against sixth-seeded BetBoom Team and didn’t take long to dispatch of their opponents. A 13-6 win on Nuke was followed by a 13-9 victory on Anubis.
The all-Turkish Aurora squad was led by Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dortkardes, who posted 46 kills and a plus-16 kill-death differential. Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalcin registered a match-high 1.56 rating.
The second match was much more competitive affair, as No. 7 9z Team took Dust II 13-8 to put No. 2 FURIA on the ropes. The underdogs then jumped out to a 5-1 lead on Mirage before FURIA rallied to tie the map at 6-6 at the break and then dominate the second half to win 13-9. On the deciding map, FURIA used a 9-1 run in the first half to cruise to a 13-6 win on Overpass.
Danil “molodoy” Golubenko of Kazakhstan led FURIA with 43 kills as four of the five players reached 40 kills. Chile’s Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibanez Hernandez led all players with 44 kills in the loss.
The other two quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday, with top-seeded Team Spirit taking on G2 Esports, the final team to get into the bracket, and Team Vitality playing Team Falcons in the 4-5 matchup.
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000
5-8. $45,000 — BetBoom Team, 9z Team
9-11. $15,000 — Natus Vincere, FUT Esports, The MongolZ
12-14. $15,000 — MOUZ, Monte, Legacy
15-16. $15,000 — B8, PARIVISION
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
