BIG charge into Thunderpick World Championship playoffs

BIG swept two opponents on Thursday to win Group D at the Thunderpick World Championship in Berlin and secure a quarterfinal bid.

After downing Aurora Gaming 2-0, BIG prevailed by the same score against BESTIA.

In the other Group D opening-round match, BESTIA smashed M80 2-0. M80 rebounded in the group's elimination match, defeating Aurora Gaming 2-0.

The $850,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament began Monday and runs through Nov. 3.

A series of qualifiers in Europe, North America and South America set the 16-team field for the World Championship. The teams are divided into four groups of four teams. Each group plays a double-elimination tournament (best-of-three format), with the group winner advancing to the quarterfinals and the second- and third-place teams playing a decider match for the group's other spot in the quarterfinals.

The single-elimination playoffs are best-of-three except for the final, which will be best-of-five. The championship team will take home $500,000, while the runner-up will get $150,000.

On Thursday, BIG topped Aurora 13-7 on Ancient, then 16-13 in overtime on Mirage. Germany's Jon "JDC" de Castro led BIG with 46 kills and a plus-17 kills-death differential. Russia's Denis "deko" Zhukov topped Aurora with 38 kills and a plus-7 K-D differential.

BIG then powered past BESTIA, taking Anubis 13-6 and Dust II 13-11. Germany's Karim "Krimbo" Moussa and Switzerland's Rigon "rigoN" Gashi each logged 37 kills for BIG. Argentina's Tomas "tomaszin" Corna posted 34 kills and a plus-5 K-D differential for BESTIA.

Earlier, BESTIA routed M80, capturing Mirage 13-5 and Anubis 13-1. Tomaszin registered 35 kills and a plus-22 K-D differential. The United States' Michael "Swisher" Schmid had 27 kills and a plus-3 K-D differential for M80.

In the elimination match, M80 ousted Aurora Gaming 13-9 on Mirage and 13-6 on Anubis. The United States' Mason "Lake" Sanderson starred for M80 with 43 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential. deko managed 30 kills and a plus-1 K-D differential for Aurora.

The group phase concludes Friday with the four decider matches:

--Group A: OG vs. Virtus.pro

--Group B: Fnatic vs. Cloud9

--Group C: Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Imperial Esports

--Group D: BESTIA vs. M80

Thunderpick World Championship prize pool

1. $500,000

2. $150,000

3. $70,000

4. $50,000

5-8. $20,000

9-12. no money

13-16. no money -- Team Falcons, 9z Team, Legacy, Aurora Gaming

--Field Level Media