Crazy Raccoon, Weibo earn playoff spots at OWCS Midseason Championship

Crazy Raccoon shut out Spacestation Gaming to clinch the first spot from Group B into the playoffs at the Overwatch Champions Series Midseason Championship on Thursday in Paris.

Crazy Raccoon joins Weibo Gaming, which punched the first ticket out of Group A on Thursday in a 2-1 victory over Team Falcons. The other six playoff berths will be handed out Friday.

The $1 million tournament is part of the Esports World Cup.

The 16-team event is starting with a double-elimination group stage. All group-stage matches are best-of-three, and the top four teams from both groups will advance to the single-elimination playoffs.

Playoff matches will be best-of-five until the grand final on Sunday, which will be best-of-seven.

The championship team will earn $400,000 and 1,000 Esports World Cup club points.

On Thursday, Crazy Raccoon swept Spacestation Gaming with a 2-0 win on Nepal Control and a 3-0 decision on Aatlis Flashpoint. Spacestation dropped into the Group B lower-bracket semifinals to take on VARREL, who rallied for a 2-1 win over AG.AL International.

VARREL lost 2-0 on Nepal Control, then beat AG.AL 1-0 on Shambali Monastery Escort and 3-2 on Aatlis Flashpoint.

Meanwhile, Weibo Gaming took a 2-0 loss to Team Falcons on Nepal Control only to turn the tide with a 2-1 victory on Neon Junction Hybrid and an 88.42m-60.07m victory on Colosseo Push.

In addition to AG.AL, three other teams were eliminated due to lower-bracket losses Thursday: 9z Team, Team Liquid and Team Secret.

In Group A, T1 blanked 9z Team 2-0 on Samoa Control and 3-0 on New Junk City Flashpoint, while Dallas Fuel eliminated Team Liquid 2-1 on Nepal Control and 3-2 on New Junk City Flashpoint. Rounding out Group B, JD Gaming blanked Team Secret 2-1 on Nepal Control and 3-0 on New Junk City Flashpoint.

The tournament continues Friday with the final six group-stage games:

--Group A upper-bracket semifinal -- Virtus.pro vs. Twisted Minds

--Group B upper-bracket semifinal -- Geekay Esports vs. ZETA DIVISION

--Group A lower-bracket semifinal -- Team Falcons vs. T1

--Group A lower-bracket semifinal -- Virtus.pro/Twisted Minds loser vs. Dallas Fuel

--Group B lower-bracket semifinal -- Geekay/ZETA loser vs. JD Gaming

--Group B lower-bracket semifinal -- Spacestation Gaming vs. VARREL

Overwatch Champions Series Midseason Championship prize pool, with money and Esports World Cup club points

1. $400,000, 1,000

2. $180,000, 750

3. $100,000, 500

4. $60,000, 300

5-8. $35,000, 200

9-12. $20,000, no points

13-16. $10,000, no points -- 9z Team, Team Liquid, Team Secret, AG.AL International

--Field Level Media