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Cloud9, FURIA Esports and Team Liquid locked up the final three playoff berths at ESL Pro League Season 16 as Group D action concluded Sunday in Malta.

Team Liquid handed Cloud9 its only loss of the group stage, 2-0, to cement third place in Group D. Despite the loss, Cloud9 still won the group and FURIA finished second after their 2-0 win over Evil Geniuses.

In Sunday’s other matchup, Eternal Fire swept Movistar Riders 2-0.

The $835,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event features 24 teams vying for a $175,000 first prize and a berth in the BLAST Premier World Final. Only the Season 16 champion will clinch a spot in the $1 million Final set for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Season 16 winner also nabs a berth in the $1 million Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 12 in Poland.

The Pro League teams were divided into four groups for the initial round-robin phase. The four group champions advanced to the playoff quarterfinals, while the teams that come in second and third in each group moved on to the playoffs’ Round of 12.

Cloud9 will join Team Vitality (Group A champion), G2 Esports (Group B) and MOUZ (Group C) in the playoff quarterfinals.

All matches in the group stage and the playoffs are best-of-three until the best-of-five final on Oct. 2.

Team Liquid defeated Cloud9 16-10 on Inferno and hung on for a 19-17 overtime win on Overpass. Mareks “YEKINDAR” Galinskis of Latvia starred for Team Liquid, scoring 62 kills on a plus-22 kills-to-deaths differential, while Canada’s Keith “NAF” Markovic added 42 kills with a plus-8 differential. Russia’s Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov had 47 kills on a plus-3 for Cloud9, and teammate and countryman Timofey “interz” Yakushin added 39 kills on a team-high plus-4.

The all-Brazilian FURIA squad outlasted Evil Geniuses 16-11 on Overpass and 16-12 on Nuke. Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato had 55 kills and a whopping plus-27 K-D for FURIA, with teammate Rafael “saffee” Costa going for 41 kills on a plus-11. Sanzhar “neaLaN” Iskhakov of Kazakhstan led Evil Geniuses with 44 kills.

Eternal Fire went out strong by beating Movistar Riders 16-9 on Vertigo and 16-5 on Overpass. Turkey’s Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dortkardes had 46 kills and a plus-23 K-D for Eternal Fire. Alejandro “alex” Masanet of Spain topped Riders with 32 kills.

The tournament continues Tuesday with two Round of 12 matches. The matchups had not been announced as of Sunday afternoon.

ESL Pro League Season 16 group standings
Group D
1. Cloud9, 4-1, +47, 12 points
2. FURIA Esports, 4-1, +38, 12 points
3. Team Liquid, 3-2, +12, 9 points
4. Evil Geniuses, 2-3, -7, 6 points
5. Eternal Fire, 2-3, -16, 6 points
6. Movistar Riders, 0-5, -74, 0 points

Group A
1. Team Vitality, 5-0, +40, 15 points
2. Fnatic, 3-2, +36, 9 points
3. Natus Vincere, 3-2, +6, 6 points
4. Team Spirit, 2-3, -9, 6 points
5. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 2-3, -31, 6 points
6. Endpoint, 1-4, -42, 3 points

Group B
1. G2 Esports, 5-0, +73, 15 points
2. FaZe Clan, 4-1, +39, 12 points
3. Outsiders, 3-2, +27, 9 points
4. BIG, 2-3, +3, 6 points
5. MIBR, 1-4, -62, 3 points
6. FTW Esports, 0-5, -80, 0 points

Group C
1. MOUZ, 4-1, +32, 12 points
2. Heroic, 4-1, +24, 12 points
3. Complexity, 3-2, -4, 9 points
4. Astralis, 2-3, +14, 6 points
5. ENCE, 1-4, -25, 3 points
6. HEET, 1-4, -41, 3 points

–Field Level Media