Four playoff spots handed out on Saturday
The Counter-Strike event at the Esports World Cup produced four more qualifiers on Saturday in Paris. Aurora Gaming and Team Spirit came through Group A. Natus Vincere and FURIA booked their places in Group D.
Aurora wasted no time. Two maps were enough against JiJieHao, 13-6 on Mirage and then 13-4 on Anubis. Finn Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo finished with 39 kills and 16 deaths.
Team Spirit had a tougher ride. BIG struck first with a 13-9 win on Cache and took the lead. Spirit hit back on Dust II, winning 13-10, before closing it out on Mirage, 13-7. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets led all comers with 65 kills.
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In Group D, Natus Vincere came out swinging against The MongolZ, winning 13-5 on Inferno. The Mongolians levelled things on Ancient, 13-9. The decider went to Mirage, where NaVi won 13-8. Kosovan Drin “makazze” Shaqiri ended on 49 kills and 12 assists.
Same story for FURIA against 9z Team. They took Dust II 13-6, lost Mirage 16-13 after overtime, then wrapped it up with a 13-6 win on Nuke. Brazilian Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato finished the day with 65 kills, 41 deaths and 15 assists.
At the foot of Group D, magic knocked out 3DMAX without dropping a map, winning 13-6 on Dust II and 13-7 on Ancient. paiN Gaming got there after dropping the opener 16-12 in overtime, then cruised on Nuke, 13-3, and Mirage, 13-7.
Vitality back in action on Sunday
The format is ruthless. Thirty-two teams are split into four groups in double elimination. Only the top four in each pool make it to a straight knockout bracket. Matches are best of three all the way to the grand final on 22 August, which will be best of five.
The winner will pocket 600 000 dollars and 1 000 points in the Esports World Cup club standings. The runner-up gets 340 000 dollars and 750 points.
Six group matches are still to come on Sunday. Team Vitality face Lynn Vision Gaming in Group C. Astralis take on Ninjas in Pyjamas and MOUZ meet PARIVISION. Legacy play MIBR, 9z Team meet magic and The MongolZ face paiN Gaming.
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