Heroic and MOUZ each recorded a sweep on Friday during Group C action at ESL Pro League Season 16 in Malta.
Heroic (2-1) handed Complexity Gaming (2-1) their first loss following a 2-0 decision, while MOUZ (2-1) toppled ENCE (1-2) by the same score. HEET (1-2) secured their first win, a 2-1 victory over Astralis (1-2).
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.
Groups A and B have been completed, with the rest of Group C action to be contested daily through Sunday, followed by Group D from Sept. 21-25.
Heroic dispatched Complexity Gaming by recording a 16-9 win on Inferno and a 16-10 victory on Ancient.
Casper “cadiaN” Moller had 45 kills and a plus-20 kills-to-deaths differential to pace the all-Danish Heroic roster. Michael “Grim” Wince notched 33 kills for Complexity.
MOUZ defeated ENCE after posting a 16-13 win on Mirage and a 16-3 victory on Overpass.
Slovakia’s David “frozen” Cernansky had 38 kills and a plus-19 K-D to pace MOUZ. Teammate Jon “JDC” de Castro of Germany also provided 38 kills on a plus-11. Poland’s Pawel “dycha” Dycha had 31 kills for ENCE.
HEET had a more difficult time of it before toppling Astralis. They sandwiched a 16-12 win on Dust II and a 16-14 result on Nuke around a 16-10 loss on Inferno.
Aurelien “afro” Drapier recorded 66 kills and a plus-13 differential for the all-French HEET side. Asger “Farlig” Jensen of Denmark collected 66 kills and a plus-17 for Astralis.
Group C action continues Saturday with three matches:
–Heroic vs. HEET
–Complexity Gaming vs. MOUZ
–ENCE vs. Astralis
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
1. G2 Esports, 5-0, +73, 15 points
2. FaZe Clan, 4-1, +39, 12 points
3. Outsiders, 3-2, +27, 9 points
4. BIG, 2-3, +3, 6 points
5. MIBR, 1-4, -62, 3 points
6. FTW Esports, 0-5, -80, 0 points
Group C
1. MOUZ, 2-1, +14, 6 points
2. Heroic, 2-1, +13, 6 points
3. Complexity, 2-1, -1, 6 points
4. ENCE, 1-2, -10, 3 points
5. HEAT, 1-2, -27, 3 points
6. Astralis, 1-2, +11, 3 points
Group D
Cloud9
Movistar Riders
Team Liquid
FURIA Esports
Evil Geniuses
Eternal Fire
–Field Level Media