MongolZ, MOUZ, Natus Vincere reach ESL 21 playoffs

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.

Jordan Woodruff

The MongolZ, MOUZ and Natus Vincere cruised to wins on Monday, clinching berths in the ESL Pro League Season 21 playoffs in Stockholm.

In Round 4 high matches of Group Stage 2, The MongolZ swept 3DMax 2-0, MOUZ downed Team Liquid 2-0 and Natus Vincere downed G2 Esports 2-0.

The $400,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament seeded eight of its 24 teams straight into Group Stage 2: G2 Esports, Team Spirit, The MongolZ, Team Vitality, MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Team Falcons and Team Liquid.

The other 16 teams began in Group Stage 1, which featured a Swiss system format of best-of-three matches. The top eight teams then advanced to Group Stage 2, which also employs a Swiss system format of best-of-three matches.

Eight teams will advance to the single-elimination playoffs. Five of those berths have now been clinched by Team Spirit, Team Vitality, The MongolZ, MOUZ and Natus Vincere.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best-of-three before the best-of-five grand final on March 16. The winning team will receive $100,000.

In the Round 4 low matches on Monday, GamerLegion, Eternal Fire and Team Falcons stayed alive with victories. GamerLegion overook SAW 2-1, Eternal Fire bounced paiN Gaming 2-0 and Team Falcons rallied past FURIA 2-1.

The MongolZ eased past 3DMax 13-4 on Dust II and 13-7 on Ancient. Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar led the all-Mongolian victors with 37 kills and a plus-20 kill-death differential. Filip “Graviti” Brankovic logged 24 kills and a minus-4 K-D differential for all-French 3DMax.

MOUZ toppled Team Liquid 13-8 on Ancient, 13-4 on Nuke behind 34 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential. Canada’s Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, Australia’s Justin “jks” Savage and Israel’s Guy “NertZ” Iluz each wound up with 22 kills for Team Liquid.

Natus Vincere bested G2 Esports 13-9 on Mirage, 13-6 on Ancient. Lithuania’s Justinas “jL” Lekavicius amassed 43 kills and a plus-21 K-D differential for Natus Vincere. Guatemala’s Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa and Israel’s Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko both logged 26 kills for G2 Esports.

SAW opened with a 13-5 win on Train before GamerLegion claimed Inferno 13-9 and Ancient 13-8. Sweden’s Fredrik “REZ” Sterner put 54 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential for GamerLegion. Poland’s Jan “cej0t” Dyl tallied 54 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential for SAW.

Eternal Fire pushed past paiN Gaming 13-9 on Nuke, 13-7 on Inferno. Samet “jottAAA” Koklu led all-Turkish Eternal Fire with 36 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential. Chile’s David “dav1deuS” Tapia Maldonado produced 28 kills and a minus-4 K-D differential for paiN Gaming.

FURIA jumped on top with a 16-13 overtime victory on Train, but Team Falcons pulled level with a 16-14 overtime decision on Mirage. The decisive third map, Dust II, went to Team Falcons 13-9. Bosnia’s Nikola “NiKo” Kovac starred for Team Falcons with 74 kills and a plus-26 K-D differential. Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes topped FURIA with 67 kills and a plus-11 K-D differential.

The last three playoff berths will be decided Tuesday in Round 5 of Group Stage 2 when Team Liquid opposes 3DMax, Team Falcons face Eternal Fire, and G2 Esports clash with GamerLegion.

ESL Pro League Season 21 Group Stage 2 standings

T1. Team Spirit, 3-0 (qualified for playoffs)

T1. Team Vitality, 3-0 (qualified for playoffs)

T3. MOUZ, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)

T3. Natus Vincere, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)

T3. The MongolZ, 3-1 (qualified for playoffs)

T6. G2 Esports, 2-2

T6. Team Falcons, 2-2

T6. Eternal Fire, 2-2

T6. 3DMAX, 2-2

T6. Team Liquid, 2-2

T6. GamerLegion, 2-2