Xtreme Gaming and Team Yandex were the first two teams to secure their spots in the playoffs of PGL Wallachia Season 9 thanks to their wins on Monday in Bucharest, Romania.
Xtreme swept LGD Gaming 2-0 and Yandex beat Natus Vincere by the same score in the day’s two matches between 2-0 teams. Under the modified Swiss system, earning their third wins was enough to advance out of the group stage, while LGD and Natus Vincere will have up to two more tries to win and move on.
The group stage of the $1 million Dota 2 tournament, which started Saturday and runs through Wednesday, consists of 16 teams. All matches are best-of-three.
The top eight teams advance to the playoffs and the other eight are eliminated. The playoffs, which run from Sept. 24-27, are double elimination, with all matches best-of-three except for the grand final, which is best-of-five.
On Monday, Xtreme defeated LGD in 46 minutes on green and 41 minutes on red. Wang “Ame” Chunyu of China led Xtreme with an 11-1-9 kills-deaths-assists ratio.
Yandex beat NaVi in 30 minutes on green before a quick 20-minute triumph on red. Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov of Kazakhstan posted a 12-0-9 K-D-A for Yandex.
Monday also saw the tournament’s first two eliminations. Yakult Brothers blanked PlayTime 2-0 and Hokori defeated Pibbles Corp by the same score, sending both losing teams home with 0-3 records.
Yakult Brothers beat PlayTime in 47 minutes on red and 45 minutes on green. Xiang “Beyond” Zhenghong of China racked up a 23-5-14 K-D-A for Yakult Brothers.
Hokori topped Pibbles in 65 minutes on red and 41 minutes on green. Peru’s Aldhair “wonderk1d^^<" de la Cruz posted a 15-6-29 to pace Hokori. In the four matches pitting 1-1 teams, Aurora Gaming swept Team Cobra 2-0; GamerLegion rallied past Pipsqueak+4 2-1; 1w Team outlasted Conventus Stellarum 2-1; and Team Nemesis defeated MOUZ 2-0. The Round 4 schedule for Tuesday: 2-1 matches: --Team Nemesis vs. GamerLegion --Natus Vincere vs. 1w Team --LGD Gaming vs. Aurora Gaming 1-2 matches: --Conventus Stellarum vs. Yakult Brothers --Pipsqueak+4 vs. Team Cobra --MOUZ vs. Hokori PGL Wallachia Season 9 prize pool: 1. $300,000 2. $175,000 3. $120,000 4. $80,000 5-6. $60,000 7-8. $40,000 9-11. $20,000 12-14. $15,000 15-16. $10,000 -- PlayTime, Pibbles Corp --Field Level Media
