Heroic defeated MOUZ in the Group B upper-bracket final and Movistar Riders also qualified for the next round Sunday at the ESL Pro League Season 17 in Malta.
Both Heroic and MOUZ had locked up qualifying berths before Sunday’s action, but Heroic’s 2-0 win meant they get to open the playoff stage in the quarterfinals, while MOUZ will start out as a high seed in the Round of 12.
The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament began with 32 teams divided into four groups for the triple-elimination opening round.
The group-stage winners move into the quarterfinals, with the group runners-up heading to the Round of 12 as high seeds. The four third-place teams enter in the Round of 16 as high seeds, and the four fourth-place teams go to the Round of 16 as low seeds.
Group A was completed last week, with Cloud9 coming in first, Outsiders in second, G2 Esports in third and Fnatic in fourth. Group C play will begin on March 8 and Group D play will start on March 15.
The tournament champion will receive $200,000 plus berths in the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne this summer and the BLAST Premier World Final in December.
On Sunday, Heroic topped MOUZ 16-12 on Nuke before squeaking out a 16-14 win on Inferno. Casper “cadiaN” Moller led the all-Danish Heroic squad with 47 kills and a plus-14 kills-to-deaths differential, while teammate Rasmus “sjuush” Beck added 43 kills and a plus-12.
In the lower bracket, BIG advanced to the final against Movistar Riders by beating Complexity 2-1. BIG lost the opening map in overtime, 19-17 on Vertigo, before pushing back with 16-12 victories on Ancient and Nuke. The all-German BIG roster was led by Karim “Krimbo” Moussa’s 72 kills and plus-22 K-D.
But Movistar Riders’ team of Spanish gamers proceeded to beat BIG 2-1 to clinch the fourth and final qualifying berth in Group B. Riders fell behind with a 16-13 loss on Vertigo but took Nuke 16-12 and pulled away 16-9 on Ancient. All five Riders players finished with at least 50 kills, led by Antonio “Martinez” Martinez with 61 kills and a plus-12 and Alejandro “alex” Masanet with 60 kills and a plus-14.
ESL Pro League Season 17 prize pool and points distribution:
1. $200,000, 3,000 BLAST Premier points, qualification for Intel Extreme Masters Cologne and BLAST Premier World Final
2. $90,000, 2,000 BLAST Premier points
3-4. $50,000, 1,200 BLAST Premier points
5-8. $35,000, 500 BLAST Premier points
9-12. $25,000
13-16. $20,000
17-20. $15,000 — Eternal Fire, BIG
21-28. $8,000 — MIBR, IHC Esports, SAW, Complexity Gaming
29-32. $4,000 — Evil Geniuses, Imperial Esports
–Field Level Media
