FURIA, 3DMAX, paiN head to next stage at BLAST.tv Austin Major

FURIA, 3DMAX and paiN Gaming secured their places in Group Stage 3 at the BLAST.tv Austin Major by virtue of their victories Monday in Texas.

In the Round 4 High Matches of Group Stage 2, FURIA rallied past B8 2-1, while 3DMAX swept FaZe Clan and paiN defeated Lynn Vision Gaming 2-0.

The Round 4 Low Matches, meanwhile, saw the three losing clubs eliminated from the tournament: M80, TYLOO and Team Falcons.

The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which began with 32 teams, features three Swiss-system group stages.

Sixteen teams advanced through qualifying events to reach Group Stage 1, where all early-round matches were a single map while advancement and elimination matches were best-of-three.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 1 advanced to Group Stage 2, where eight invited teams awaited: Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, 3DMAx, Virtus.pro, paiN Gaming, FURIA, MIBR and M80.

The same process applies in Group Stage 2, with the top eight squads moving on to Group Stage 3, where eight more invited teams will join the action: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 3 advance to the single-elimination playoffs, where all matches will be best-of-3, including the grand final on June 22.

The winning team will earn $500,000, and the runner-up will pocket $170,000.

On Monday, FURIA lost 13-3 on Mirage to B8 before answering with a 13-6 victory on Train and completing the comeback with a 13-7 win on Dust II. Latvia's Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis posted a match-high 45 kills for FURIA, and Danil "molodoy" Golubenko of Kazakhstan added 39 kills on a team-best plus-10 kills-to-deaths differential.

3DMAX defeated FaZe 13-8 on Nuke and 13-9 on Inferno. They were led by Frenchman Pierre "Ex3rcice" Bulinge's 41 kills and plus-18 K-D.

Meanwhile, paiN Gaming tackled Lynn Vision Gaming 13-8 on Dust II and 13-4 on Nuke. David "dav1deuS" Tapia Maldonado of Chile dominated with 42 kills and a plus-25 K-D for paiN.

In the Low Matches, Nemiga Gaming topped M80 13-11 on Ancient and 13-2 on Dust II. Beksultan "khaN" Ospan of Kazakhstan led Nemiga with 40 kills on a plus-22.

HEROIC fell 16-12 to TYLOO on Ancient but responded with consecutive 13-10 victories on Mirage and Train. Simon "yxngstxr" Boije of Sweden paced HEROIC (61 kills, plus-12).

Finally, MIBR also needed three maps to dust Team Falcons. MIBR lost 13-6 on Ancient and prevailed 13-9 on Nuke before pulling out a 22-20 overtime triumph on Inferno. Brazil's Lucas "Lucaozy" Neves had 62 kills and a plus-4 for MIBR.

The tournament continues Tuesday with three Round 5 matches:

--Nemiga Gaming vs. HEROIC

--B8 vs. Lynn Vision Gaming

--FaZe Clan vs. MIBR

BLAST.tv Austin Major Group Stage 2 standings

T1. Legacy, 3-0 (advanced to Group Stage 3)

T1. Virtus.pro, 3-0 (advanced to Group Stage 3)

T3. paiN Gaming, 3-1 (advanced to Group Stage 3)

T3. 3DMAX, 3-1 (advanced to Group Stage 3)

T3. FURIA, 3-1 (advanced to Group Stage 3)

T6. FaZe Clan, 2-2

T6. B8, 2-2

T6. Nemiga Gaming, 2-2

T6. Lynn Vision Gaming, 2-2

T6. MIBR, 2-2

T6. HEROIC, 2-2

T12. TYLOO, 1-3

T12. Team Falcons, 1-3

T12. M80, 1-3

T15. OG, 0-3

T15. BetBoom Team, 0-3

BLAST.tv Austin Major prize pool

1. $500,000

2. $170,000

3-4. $80,000

5-8. $45,000

9-11. $15,000

12-14. $15,000

15-16. $15,000

17-19. $10,000

20-22. $10,000 -- TYLOO, Team Falcons, M80

23-24. $10,000 -- OG, BetBoom Team

25-27. $5,000 -- FlyQuest, NRG, Wildcard

28-30. $5,000 -- Imperial Esports, Chinggis Warriors, Complexity

31-32. $5,000 -- Metizport, Fluxo

--Field Level Media