Outsiders came from behind for a win and Natus Vincere also advanced to the quarterfinals at the ESL Pro League Season 16 on Wednesday in Malta.
In Round of 12 action, Outsiders rallied for a 2-1 win over FURIA Esports, and Natus Vincere edged Heroic 2-1.
Natus Vincere move on to oppose G2 Esports in the quarterfinals, while Outsiders’ quarterfinal opponent will be Team Vitality.
The $835,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event began with 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 Season 16 winner also nabs a berth in the $1 million Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 12 in Poland.
The Pro League teams were divided into four groups for the initial round-robin Group Stage. The four group champions advanced to the playoff quarterfinals, while the teams that came in second and third in each group moved 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 Sunday.
FURIA jumped in front on Wednesday by claiming Ancient 16-11. Outsiders came back to take Vertigo 16-10 and Inferno 16-6.
Russia’s Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev paced Outsiders with 62 kills and a plus-16 kill-death differential. Yuri “yuurih” Santos led FURIA’s all-Brazilian roster with 50 kills and a plus-1 K-D differential.
Natus Vincere captured Mirage 16-14 before Heroic pulled level with a 16-14 victory on Inferno. On the decisive third map, Overpass, Natus Vincere pulled away for a 16-7 win.
Ukraine’s Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev logged 71 kills and a plus-28 K-D differential for Natus Vincere. Casper “cadiaN” Moller put up 65 kills and a plus-11 K-D differential for Heroic’s all-Danish squad.
The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday and Friday:
–Thursday: Cloud9 vs. FaZe Clan
–Thursday: MOUZ vs. Team Liquid
–Friday: G2 Esports vs. Natus Vincere
–Friday: Team Vitality vs. Outsiders
ESL Pro League Season 16 prize pool
1. TBD — $175,000
2. TBD — $70,000
3-4. TBD — $35,000
5-8. TBD — $17,500
9-12. Complexity Gaming, Fnatic — $27,000; Heroic — $12,000; FURIA Esports — $32,000
13-16. Team Spirit, BIG, Astralis, Evil Geniuses — $19,000
17-20. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Eternal Fire — $17,500; MIBR, ENCE — $12,500
21-24. Endpoint, HEET — $11,000; FTW Esports, Movistar Riders — $6,000
–Field Level Media
