Team Vitality swept Team Spirit 2-0 on Sunday to finish off a perfect 5-0 run through Group A at ESL Pro League Season 16 in Malta.
Fnatic beat Endpoint 2-0 to clinch second in the competitive group, and Ninjas in Pyjamas held off Natus Vincere 2-1 to limit NaVi to third place.
The $835,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event features 24 teams vying for a $175,000 first prize and a berth in the BLAST Premier World Final. Only the Season 16 champion will clinch a spot in the $1 million Final set for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Pro League teams are divided into four groups for the initial round-robin phase. The four group champions will advance to the playoff quarterfinals, while the teams that come in second and third in each group will move on to the playoffs’ Round of 12.
All matches in the group stage and the playoffs are best-of-three until the best-of-five final on Oct. 2.
Vitality handled business against Spirit on Sunday by winning 16-6 on Nuke and 16-10 on Vertigo. French star Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut led all players with 49 kills and a plus-28 kills-to-deaths differential for Vitality.
Fnatic secured their 3-2 record in the group by beating Endpoint 16-8 on Ancient and 16-10 on Overpass. Dion “FASHR” Derksen of the Netherlands led Fnatic with 41 kills and a plus-14 K-D, followed closely by teammate Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson of Sweden with 40 kills on a plus-13.
Ninjas in Pyjamas started their match with a 16-8 victory on Inferno before NaVi responded with a 16-9 triumph on Mirage. NiP took momentum back on Overpass and earned a decisive 16-11 win. NiP’s Fredrik “REZ” Sterner of Sweden led all players with 62 kills and a plus-18 differential.
Group B will be contested from Sept. 7-11, Group C from Sept. 14-18 and Group D from Sept. 21-25.
ESL Pro League Season 16 group standings, with win-loss record, score differential and points:
Group A
1. Team Vitality, 5-0, +40, 15 points
2. Fnatic, 3-2, +36, 9 points
3. Natus Vincere, 3-2, +6, 6 points
4. Team Spirit, 2-3, -9, 6 points
5. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 2-3, -31, 6 points
6. Endpoint, 1-4, -42, 3 points
Group B
FaZe Clan
G2 Esports
BIG
Outsiders
MIBR
FTW Esports
Group C
ENCE
Heroic
Astralis
MOUZ
Complexity
HEET
Group D
Cloud9
Movistar Riders
Team Liquid
FURIA Esports
Evil Geniuses
Eternal Fire
–Field Level Media
