Team Liquid and Team Spirit emerged victorious in their three-map matches on Thursday, securing their spots in the upper-bracket final of the Riyadh Masters. Liquid triumphed over Talon Esports with a 2-1 scoreline, while Team Spirit overcame BetBoom Team in a similar fashion. The defeated teams were relegated to the lower-bracket quarterfinals.
Alongside these matches, 9Pandas secured a 2-0 victory over Team Secret in the final first-round match of the lower bracket, resulting in Secret’s elimination from the tournament.
The highly-anticipated Riyadh Masters, boasting a staggering $15 million prize pool, commenced with 20 teams. However, following the play-in and group stages, only 12 teams remained.
The group stage comprised two groups, each consisting of eight teams, and concluded on Monday. Matches were conducted in a best-of-two format, utilizing a single round-robin structure. As a result, the top four teams advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs, while the fifth- and sixth-place teams from each group progressed to the lower bracket. Unfortunately, the remaining teams were eliminated from the competition.
The double-elimination playoff stage will continue until Sunday. All matches, with the exception of the grand final, will be contested in a best-of-three format. The highly-anticipated grand final will utilize a best-of-five format.
The victors of the Riyadh Masters will claim a grand prize of $5 million, while the runner-up will be awarded $2.5 million.
In the thrilling encounter between Liquid and Talon, Liquid secured a resounding victory in the initial 42-minute red match. However, Talon retaliated and triumphed in the subsequent 49-minute red match. The tie-breaking final match lived up to its expectations, with Liquid ultimately emerging victorious after an intense 60-minute red match. Among the standout players was Michael “miCKe” Vu from Sweden, who achieved an impressive kill-death-assist ratio of 7.0-5.7-7.7 to lead Liquid to victory.
Similarly, Team Spirit commenced their match against BetBoom with a triumphant 45-minute green win. However, BetBoom, the Group B winners, rallied and secured a 44-minute green win, resulting in a tied score. In the decider, Spirit demonstrated resilience and outlasted BetBoom in an epic 72-minute red match. Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk from Ukraine was instrumental in Spirit’s victory, achieving a remarkable kill-death-assist ratio of 9-4-8 on the final map.
Meanwhile, 9Pandas showcased their prowess against Team Secret, securing swift victories within 34 minutes on red and 39 minutes on green. Matvey “MieRo`” Vasyunin from Russia played a pivotal role in 9Pandas’ triumph, achieving an outstanding kill-death-assist ratio of 7.5-2.0-14.0.
Thursday is set to host three captivating matches:
– Quest Esports vs. Gaimin Gladiators (lower-bracket second round)
– Team Aster vs. 9Pandas (lower-bracket second round)
– BetBoom Team vs. Quest/Gaimin winner (lower-bracket quarterfinals)
The Riyadh Masters boasts an impressive prize pool distribution:
1. $5 million — TBD
2. $2.5 million — TBD
3. $1.7 million — TBD
4. $1.2 million — TBD
5-6. $800,000 — TBD
7-8. $500,000 — TBD
9-12. $300,000 — PSG.LGD, Tundra Esports, Evil Geniuses, Team Secret
13-14. $200,000 — OG, TSM
15-16. $100,000 — Xtreme Gaming, Shopify Rebellion
17-20. $50,000 — beastcoast, Entity, Virtus.pro, Execration
