ENCE and FaZe Clan both won twice on Monday as the Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Dallas event got underway.
The victories send ENCE and FaZe Clan to a Group A winners-bracket on Wednesday, with the team that captures that showdown moving directly to the playoff semifinals.
The $250,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament features 16 teams divided into two groups for the double-elimination opening stage. The group winners earn berths in the semifinals. The group runners-up move to the quarterfinals as high seeds, and the third-place teams in each group head to the quarterfinals as low seeds.
The first-round matches were best-of-one. All other matches through the group stage and the playoffs are best-of-three except for the final on Sunday, which will be best-of-five. The championship side will receive $100,000, 1,000 ESL Pro Tour points and 2,400 BLAST Premier points.
ENCE opened with a 16-9 win over MOUZ on Nuke, then swept G2 Esports 16-14 on Dust II and 16-14 on Nuke. Poland’s Pawel “dycha” Dycha paced ENCE in the G2 match with 47 kills and a plus-11 kill-death differential. Russia’s Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov had 44 kills and a plus-6 K-D different for G2.
FaZe Clan routed Encore Esports Club 16-5 on Dust II before downing Team Vitality 16-11 on Dust II and 16-10 on Nuke.
Canada’s Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken led FaZe with 43 kills against Vitality, while teammate Robin ‘ropz’ Kool of Estonia posted a team-best plus-16 K-D differential. France’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut guided Vitality with 43 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential.
In the other Group A first-round matches, Vitality defeated Astralis 16-12 on Vertigo, and G2 defeated Movistar Riders 16-5 on Nuke.
Astralis earned a second-round, losers-bracket match on Tuesday against G2 by sweeping Encore Esports Club 16-3 on Vertigo and 16-9 on Nuke.
MOUZ swept Movistar Riders in losers-bracket action, 16-9 on Ancient and 16-10 on Mirage, to earned a Tuesday matchup with Vitality.
In Group B, only the initial round was staged on Monday. FURIA Esports toppled Imperial Esports 16-9 on Mirage, setting up a second-round showdown against Cloud9, a 16-6 victor over Team Liquid on Vertigo. BIG bested Ninjas in Pyjamas 16-10 on Ancient to earn a date with MIBR, who routed Complexity 16-4 on Nuke.
The Group B losers bracket will start with Imperial Esports vs. Liquid and Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Complexity.
Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Dallas prize pool and points distribution
1. $100,000, 1,000 ESL Pro Tour points, 2,400 BLAST Premier points
2. $42,000, 750 ESL Pro Tour points, 1,200 BLAST Premier points
3-4. $20,000, 525 ESL Pro Tour points, 750 BLAST Premier points
5-6. $10,000, 350 ESL Pro Tour points, 225 BLAST Premier points
7-8. $6,000, 200 ESL Pro Tour points, 225 BLAST Premier points
9-12. $5,000, 100 ESL Pro Tour points, no BLAST Premier points
13-16. $4,000, no ESL Pro Tour points, no BLAST Premier points — Movistar Riders, Encore Esports Club
–Field Level Media