Outsiders, Entity and BOOM Esports kept their playoff dreams alive Wednesday by notching lower-bracket wins at the PGL Arlington Major in Arlington, Texas.
Outsiders blanked Royal Never Give Up 2-0, Entity rallied past Evil Geniuses 2-1 and BOOM beat Team Liquid 2-1 to reach the second round of the lower bracket. Those results eliminated Royal Never Give Up, Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid from the tournament.
Entity and BOOM will square off in a second-round elimination contest Friday, while Outsiders awaits the winner of Fnatic vs. beastcoast, which is scheduled for Thursday.
Seventeen teams from around the world began the major competing for shares of a $500,000 prize pool, including a grand prize of $200,000. In the Group Stage, they were drawn into groups of nine and eight for single round robins, with all matches best-of-two.
The fifth- and sixth-place teams from each group advanced to the lower bracket. The double-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches takes place this week, with the best-of-five grand final scheduled for Sunday.
Outsiders earned a 57-minute victory on red before winning in 34 minutes, again on red, to complete the sweep of Royal Never Give Up. Danil “gpk” Skutin of Russia averaged a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 10.5-6.0-16.0 to carry Outsiders.
Evil Geniuses got ahead with a 33-minute win on red, but Entity answered with a 31-minute victory on green and broke the tie with a 31-minute triumph on red. In Entity’s two map wins, the Czech Republic’s Jonas “SabeRLight” Volek averaged 10 kills and 10 assists while suffering just one total death.
BOOM opened its meeting with Team Liquid by winning in 44 minutes on red. Liquid responded with a quick 27-minute win on red, but BOOM went the distance on the deciding map and won in 54 minutes, again on red. Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong of Laos won MVP on the third map, getting four kills and seven assists, while teammate Erin “Yopaj” Ferrer of the Philippines had a 10-1-6 K-D-A.
The Playoffs continue Thursday with three matches:
–PSG.LGD vs. OG (upper bracket semifinals)
–Team Spirit vs. Team Aster (upper bracket semifinals)
— Fnatic vs. beastcoast (lower bracket Round 1)
PGL Arlington Major prize pool
1. TBD — $200,000, 820 DPC points
2. TBD — $100,000, 740
3. TBD — $75,000, 670
4. TBD — $50,000, 590
5-6. TBD — $25,000, 515
7-8. TBD — $12,500, 360
9-12. Royal Never Give Up, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid — no prize money
13-14. Talon Esports, Natus Vincere — no prize money
15-16. Thunder Awaken, Tundra Esports — no prize money
17. Soniqs — no prize money
–Field Level Media