Team Secret moved into first place in Group A by beating TSM 2-0 during group stage action at BetBoom Dacha on Monday in Yerevan, Armenia.
Secret outlasted TSM in 68 minutes on green before finishing them off in 41 minutes on red. Pakistani-American Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan tallied 33 kills, just three deaths and 32 assists across the two maps to lead Secret.
BetBoom Team and Evil Geniuses tied 1-1 in the other Group A match of the day. Meanwhile, Gaimin Gladiators improved to 2-0-0 to lead Group B, beating beastcoast, and 9Pandas defeated Nigma Galaxy.
Two round-robin groups of four teams apiece will stage best-of-two matches over three days to set the playoff bracket, which begins Wednesday.
The top two teams from each group will be seeded into the upper bracket, while the third-place team in each group will be slotted into the lower bracket. The playoffs will be best-of-three, double-elimination, with a best-of-five grand final.
The winning team will receive $150,000 as part of an overall $250,000 prize pool.
On Monday, Evil Geniuses scored a 30-minute win on red to open their match, but BetBoom answered with a 47-minute win on green.
Gaimin Gladiators defeated beastcoast in 39 minutes on green and 37 minutes on red.
9Pandas, meanwhile, earned wins in 56 minutes and 47 minutes, playing on red both times, to hand Nigma Galaxy its second loss in two days.
Group A standings:
1. Team Secret 1-1-0 (3-1)
2. TSM 1-0-1 (2-2)
3. BetBoom Team 0-2-0 (2-2)
4. Evil Geniuses 0-1-1 (1-3)
Group B standings:
1. Gaimin Gladiators 2-0-0 (4-0)
T2. 9Pandas 1-0-1 (2-2)
T2. beastcoast 1-0-1 (2-2)
4. Nigma Galaxy 0-0-2 (0-4)
BetBoom Dacha prize pool:
1. $150,000 — TBD
2. $62,500 — TBD
3. $25,000 — TBD
4. $12,500 — TBD
5-6. no prize money — TBD, TBD
7-8. no prize money — TBD, TBD
–Field Level Media