Falcons, Eternal Fire, FURIA move on at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade #2

Team Falcons advanced to the Group A grand final at the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade #2 event by defeating 9z Team on Monday in Serbia.

Team Falcons got revenge on 9z, who had beaten them 2-1 on the first day of competition. That sent Falcons into the lower bracket of Group A, where they met 9z in the final Monday and prevailed 2-0.

Falcons will face paiN Gaming in the Group A grand final, but both sides are assured to reach the playoffs.

Twelve teams are participating in the $500,000 tournament, with eight of those squads battling it out in the group stage. HEROIC, MOUZ, Team Spirit and Virtus.pro can already shift their focus to the playoffs due to their status as high seeds.

In the double-elimination group stage, the eight participating teams have been split into two groups of four. All matches are best-of-three, and the top two teams from each group will secure a playoff berth.

The playoffs also feature a double-elimination bracket. All matches are once again best-of-three except for the best-of-five grand final, which will be held on Sunday.

A first-place prize of $250,000 will be awarded to the winning team.

On Monday, Team Falcons opened with a 13-9 win over 9z on Dust II before piling on with a 13-1 rout on Mirage. Pavle "Maden" Boskovic of Montenegro led Falcons with 30 kills on a plus-10 kills-to-deaths differential, while Denmark's Emil "Magisk" Reif had 29 kills on a plus-14.

Group B saw two results Monday, as Eternal Fire blanked 9Pandas 2-0 in the upper-bracket final, and FURIA Esports defeated Aurora Gaming 2-1 in the lower-bracket semifinal.

Eternal Fire eked out a 13-11 win on Nuke before toppling 9Pandas 13-2 on Anubis. Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dortkardes of Turkey racked up 42 kills on a plus-21 for Eternal Fire.

Aurora opened with a 13-7 win on Mirage, but FURIA knotted the match 13-10 on Inferno and completed the comeback with a 13-9 result on Nuke. Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo had 54 kills on a plus-7 for the all-Brazilian FURIA roster, and Yuri "yuurih" Santos added 49 kills on a plus-10.

Group-stage action continues Tuesday with three matches:

--paiN Gaming vs. Team Falcons (Group A grand final)

--9Pandas vs. FURIA Esports (Group B lower-bracket final)

--Eternal Fire vs. 9Pandas/FURIA winner (Group B grand final)

BetBoom Dacha Belgrade #2 prize pool:

1. $250,000

2. $125,000

3. $50,000

4. $25,000

5-6. $10,000

7-8. $5,000

9-10. No money -- 9z Team, one team TBD

11-12. No money -- BetBoom Team, Aurora Gaming

--Field Level Media