Quest Esports and BetBoom Team won their respective groups on Monday as the playoff bracket was finalized for the final stage of the Riyadh Masters.
Two wins and five draws were enough for Quest to win Group A by a hair, while BetBoom posted the best record overall with six wins and one loss in Group B.
Tiebreakers were required in each group after the final day of round-robin action. In Group A, 9Pandas won a pair of one-map matches to earn fourth place and a berth in the upper bracket of the playoff stage. In Group B, Tundra Esports earned the group’s sixth and final playoff berth via tiebreakers.
The $15 million Riyadh Masters features 20 teams, eight of which qualified directly to the group stage and eight others who qualified through the play-in.
The group stage began Friday and featured two groups of eight teams. Those matches were best-of-two in a single round-robin format. The top four teams advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs, while the fifth- and sixth-place teams from each group advanced to the lower bracket. The remaining teams have been eliminated.
The playoffs take place Tuesday through Sunday and will be double elimination. All matches are best-of-three except for the grand final, which is best-of-five.
The winning team pockets $5 million with $2.5 million going to the runner-up.
On Monday, Quest drew with PSG.LGD 1-1 to secure top spot in Group A, while Team Spirit took second after a 1-1 draw with 9Pandas. Gaimin Gladiators swept OG in 35 minutes on green and 18 minutes on red to finish third in the group.
The tiebreaker to determine fourth place went to 9Pandas, who beat Evil Geniuses in 37 minutes on red and PSG.LGD in 56 minutes on red. PSG.LGD and EG settled for fifth and sixth place and will begin the playoffs in the lower bracket.
BetBoom polished off a dominant group-stage performance by beating TSM in 28 minutes on red and 48 minutes on green. Team Liquid took second and pushed Talon down to fourth by beating them in 45 minutes on red and 49 minutes on green. Aster finished third after beating Shopify Rebellion in 49 minutes on red and 41 minutes on green.
Team Secret was fifth in Group B after drawing with Tundra, who then moved to a round of tiebreakers against Shopify Rebellion and TSM for sixth. After TSM beat Shopify in 24 minutes on green, Tundra beat TSM in 44 minutes on green and Shopify in 36 minutes on red.
TSM and Shopify were among the teams eliminated from the tournament.
The playoffs begin Tuesday with the four upper-bracket quarterfinal matches:
–Quest Esports vs. Talon Esports
–Team Liquid vs. Gaimin Gladiators
–Team Spirit vs. Team Aster
–BetBoom Team vs. 9Pandas
Group A final standings (match W-D-L, map record)
1. Quest Esports — 2-5-0, 9-5
2. Team Spirit — 2-4-1, 8-6
3. Gaimin Gladiators — 2-4-1, 8-6
4. 9Pandas — 1-5-1, 7-7
5. PSG.LGD — 2-3-2, 7-7
6. Evil Geniuses — 2-3-2, 7-7
7. OG — 0-5-2, 5-9
8. Xtreme Gaming — 1-3-3, 5-9
Group B final standings (match W-D-L, map record)
1. BetBoom Team — 6-0-1, 12-2
2. Team Liquid — 3-3-1, 9-5
3. Team Aster — 3-3-1, 9-5
4. Talon Esports — 3-2-2, 8-6
5. Team Secret — 2-2-3, 6-8
6. Tundra Esports — 0-4-3, 4-10
7. TSM — 0-4-3, 4-10
8. Shopify Rebellion — 0-4-3, 4-10
Riyadh Masters prize pool:
1. $5 million — TBD
2. $2.5 million — TBD
3. $1.7 million — TBD
4. $1.2 million — TBD
5-6. $800,000 — TBD
7-8. $500,000 — TBD
9-12. $300,000 — TBD
13-14. $200,000 — OG, TSM
15-16. $100,000 — Xtreme Gaming, Shopify Rebellion
17-20. $50,000 — beastcoast, Entity, Virtus.pro, Execration
–Field Level Media