Heroic and BIG were among four teams to open the Legends Stage 2-0 on Saturday at the Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major in Rio de Janeiro.
Cloud9 and FURIA Esports also improved to 2-0 after winning their Round 2 High Matches.
C9 will meet Heroic and FURIA will play BIG in Sunday’s Round 3 High Matches.
BIG defeated MOUZ 16-7, Cloud9 beat Natus Vincere 16-14, FURIA knocked off Team Spirit 16-13, and Heroic blasted Fnatic 16-2 in the High Matches.
Team Liquid, Vitality, ENCE and Outsiders won their Round 2 Low Matches.
The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event began with 24 teams — 16 from Europe, six from the Americas and two from Asia-Pacific. Eight teams were seeded straight into the second round, called the Legends Stage. The other 16 teams competed in the Challengers Stage for the final eight berths in the Legends Stage.
The Challenge Stage used the Swiss system in which teams are reseeded after each round, with winners facing off in “high” matches the following round, and losers advancing to “low” matches. Early rounds consisted of a single map, while all elimination and advancement matches were best-of-three. The same procedures will be used in the Legends Stage, which runs from Saturday through Tuesday.
The playoffs, which will consist of single-elimination quarterfinals, semifinals and final, are set for Nov. 10-13. All playoff matches will be best-of-three.
The winning team will earn $500,000, 4,000 BLAST Premier ranking points and automatic berths in the BLAST Premier World Final, scheduled for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, set for Jan. 31-Feb. 12 in Poland.
Action continues Sunday with eight matches:
High: Heroic vs. Cloud9
High: FURIA Esports vs. BIG
Mid: NA’VI vs. Liquid
Mid: MOUZ vs. Vitality
Mid: Team Spirit vs. Outsiders
Mid: ENCE vs. Fnatic
Low: FaZe Clan vs. Bad News Eagles
Low: Sprout vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major: Legends Stage standings
T1. Heroic 2-0
T1. FURIA Esports 2-0
T1. BIG 2-0
T1. Cloud 9 2-0
T5. Natus Vincere 1-1
T5. MOUZ 1-1
T5. ENCE 1-1
T5. Team Spirit 1-1
T5. Outsiders 1-1
T5. Fnatic 1-1
T5. Team Liquid 1-1
T13. FaZe Clan 0-2
T13. Sprout 0-2
T13. Ninjas in Pyjamas 0-2
T13. Bad News Eagles 0-2
Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major prize pool:
1. $500,000, 4,000 BLAST Premier points
2. $170,000, 2,000 BLAST Premier points
3-4. $80,000, 1,250 BLAST Premier points
5-8. $45,000, 500 BLAST Premier points
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $20,000
15-16. $20,000
17-19. 9z Team, Team GamerLegion, OG — $10,000
20-22. Evil Geniuses, Grayhound Gaming, IHC Esports — $10,000
23-24. Imperial Esports, 00 Nation — $10,000
–Field Level Media