Legacy eked out two tight maps to claim a 2-0 victory over PARIVISION as the Thunderpick World Championship got underway on Wednesday at Attard, Malta.
Joining Legacy in winning an opening Group B match was FURIA, who downed BetBoom Team 2-0.
In Group A openers, 9z Team swept Aurora Gaming 2-0, and Team Falcons topped Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0.
The $1 million Counter-Strike 2 event features eight teams divided into two groups for the double-elimination opening round. All matches are best-of-three, and the top two teams from each group advance to the single-elimination playoffs.
Playoff matches will be best-of-three until the grand final on Sunday, which will be best-of-five. The championship team will receive $500,000, half going to the club and half going to the players.
On Wednesday, Legacy began with a 13-11 victory over PARIVISION on Dust II, then sealed the series with a 16-14 overtime triumph on Mirage. Brazil’s Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer paced Legacy with 43 kills and a plus-11 kill-death differential. Russia’s Ivan “zweih” Gogin and Kazakhstan’s Abay “Hobbit” Khassenov each produced 39 kills for PARIVISION.
FURIA bested BetBoom Team 13-10 on Ancient, 13-9 on Mirage behind 40 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential from Brazil’s Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato. Daniil “d1Ledez” Kustov notched 31 kills and an even K-D differential for all-Russian BetBoom Team.
After 9z Team squeezed out a 13-11 win over Aurora Gaming on Inferno, the match ended with a 13-1 rout on Nuke. Argentina’s Luciano “luchov” Herrera amassed 38 kills and a plus-18 K-D differential for 9z Team. Finland’s Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo totaled 32 kills and a plus-3 K-D differential for Aurora Gaming.
Team Falcons nipped Ninjas in Pyjamas 16-13 in overtime, then wrapped up the victory with a 13-6 decision on Dust II. Russia’s Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov propelled Team Falcons with 40 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential. Denmark’s Martin “stavn” Lund registered 31 kills and a minus-3 K-D differential for Ninjas in Pyjamas.
The Thursday schedule:
–Group A elimination match, Aurora Gaming vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
–Group B elimination match, PARIVISION vs. BetBoom Team
–Group A winners match, 9z Team vs. Team Falcons
–Group B winners match, Legacy vs. FURIA
Thunderpick World Championship prize pool (all money evenly divided between player prize money and team share)
1. $500,000
2. $250,000
3. $100,000
4. $50,000
5-6. $30,000
7-8. $20,000
–Field Level Media
