Cloud9, Virtus.pro, FaZe Clan and Monte won their opening matches at the Thunderpick World Championship on Friday.

Cloud9 and Virtus.pro advanced to the winners’ match in Group A, while FaZe Clan and Monte did the same in Group B. The four losing teams will meet in a pair of win-or-go-home elimination matches.

Sixteen teams were divided into four double-elimination groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination bracket that concludes Nov. 5. All matches are best-of-three.

Cloud9 kicked off the tournament with a 2-1 win over Fnatic. Cloud9 won 13-8 on Ancient, fell 13-11 on Overpass and advanced with a 13-10 triumph on Inferno. Abay “HObbit” Khassenov of Kazakhstan led Cloud9 with 53 kills and a plus-18 kills-to-deaths differential.

Also in Group A, Virtus.pro rallied for a 2-1 win over Ninjas in Pyjamas. NiP opened with a 13-8 result on Overpass, but Virtus.pro routed them 13-3 on Ancient before winning the 13-10 clincher on Inferno. David “n0rb3r7” Danielyan of Russia had 49 kills and a plus-11 for Virtus.pro.

Group B saw a pair of 2-0 sweeps, starting with Monte beating Wildcard Gaming. Monte ran away 13-2 on Overpass and 13-6 on Anubis, powered by Ukrainians Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev (35 kills, plus-20 K-D) and Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletniuk (34 kills, plus-23).

FaZe Clan beat SAW 13-6 on Anubis and 13-6 on Nuke. Latvia’s Helvijs “broky” Saukants led FaZe with 36 kills on a plus-11 K-D, while Estonia’s Robin “ropz” Kool added 32 kills on a match-high plus-18 differential.

Group A and B action continues Saturday with the following matches:

–Fnatic vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas (Group A elimination match)

–Cloud9 vs. Virtus.pro (Group A winners’ match)

–Wildcard vs. SAW (Group B elimination match)

–Monte vs. FaZe Clan (Group B winners’ match)

Group Stage standings

Group A

1. Cloud9 1-0

1. Virtus.pro 1-0

3. Fnatic 0-1

3. Ninjas in Pyjamas 0-1

Group B

1. FaZe Clan 1-0

1. Monte 1-0

3. SAW 0-1

3. Wildcard Gaming 0-1

–Field Level Media