Jordan Woodruff
The MongolZ, MOUZ and Natus Vincere cruised to wins on Monday, clinching berths in the ESL Pro League Season 21 playoffs in Stockholm.
In Round 4 high matches of Group Stage 2, The MongolZ swept 3DMax 2-0, MOUZ downed Team Liquid 2-0 and Natus Vincere downed G2 Esports 2-0.
The $400,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament seeded eight of its 24 teams straight into Group Stage 2: G2 Esports, Team Spirit, The MongolZ, Team Vitality, MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Team Falcons and Team Liquid.
The other 16 teams began in Group Stage 1, which featured a Swiss system format of best-of-three matches. The top eight teams then advanced to Group Stage 2, which also employs a Swiss system format of best-of-three matches.
Eight teams will advance to the single-elimination playoffs. Five of those berths have now been clinched by Team Spirit, Team Vitality, The MongolZ, MOUZ and Natus Vincere.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best-of-three before the best-of-five grand final on March 16. The winning team will receive $100,000.
In the Round 4 low matches on Monday, GamerLegion, Eternal Fire and Team Falcons stayed alive with victories. GamerLegion overook SAW 2-1, Eternal Fire bounced paiN Gaming 2-0 and Team Falcons rallied past FURIA 2-1.
The MongolZ eased past 3DMax 13-4 on Dust II and 13-7 on Ancient. Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar led the all-Mongolian victors with 37 kills and a plus-20 kill-death differential. Filip “Graviti” Brankovic logged 24 kills and a minus-4 K-D differential for all-French 3DMax.
MOUZ toppled Team Liquid 13-8 on Ancient, 13-4 on Nuke behind 34 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential. Canada’s Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, Australia’s Justin “jks” Savage and Israel’s Guy “NertZ” Iluz each wound up with 22 kills for Team Liquid.
Natus Vincere bested G2 Esports 13-9 on Mirage, 13-6 on Ancient. Lithuania’s Justinas “jL” Lekavicius amassed 43 kills and a plus-21 K-D differential for Natus Vincere. Guatemala’s Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa and Israel’s Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko both logged 26 kills for G2 Esports.
SAW opened with a 13-5 win on Train before GamerLegion claimed Inferno 13-9 and Ancient 13-8. Sweden’s Fredrik “REZ” Sterner put 54 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential for GamerLegion. Poland’s Jan “cej0t” Dyl tallied 54 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential for SAW.
Eternal Fire pushed past paiN Gaming 13-9 on Nuke, 13-7 on Inferno. Samet “jottAAA” Koklu led all-Turkish Eternal Fire with 36 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential. Chile’s David “dav1deuS” Tapia Maldonado produced 28 kills and a minus-4 K-D differential for paiN Gaming.
FURIA jumped on top with a 16-13 overtime victory on Train, but Team Falcons pulled level with a 16-14 overtime decision on Mirage. The decisive third map, Dust II, went to Team Falcons 13-9. Bosnia’s Nikola “NiKo” Kovac starred for Team Falcons with 74 kills and a plus-26 K-D differential. Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes topped FURIA with 67 kills and a plus-11 K-D differential.
The last three playoff berths will be decided Tuesday in Round 5 of Group Stage 2 when Team Liquid opposes 3DMax, Team Falcons face Eternal Fire, and G2 Esports clash with GamerLegion.
ESL Pro League Season 21 Group Stage 2 standings
T1. Team Spirit, 3-0 (qualified for playoffs)
T1. Team Vitality, 3-0 (qualified for playoffs)
T3. MOUZ, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)
T3. Natus Vincere, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)
T3. The MongolZ, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)
T6. G2 Esports, 2-2
T6. Team Falcons, 2-2
T6. Eternal Fire, 2-2
T6. 3DMAX, 2-2
T6. Team Liquid, 2-2
T6. GamerLegion, 2-2
T12. paiN Gaming, 1-3 (eliminated)
T12. SAW, 1-3 (eliminated)
T12. FURIA, 1-3 (eliminated)
T15. MIBR, 0-3 (eliminated)
T15. TYLOO, 0-3 (eliminated)
ESL Pro League Season 21 prize pool
1. $100,000
2. $50,000
3-4. $25,000
5-8. $18,000
9-11. $13,500
12-14. $10,500 — paiN Gaming, SAW, FURIA
15-16. $8,500 — MIBR, TYLOO
17-19. $6,500 — FlyQuest, M80, Nemiga Gaming
20-22. $4,500 — HEROIC, Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG
23-24. $3,000 — Housebets, Mindfreak
–Field Level Media
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