G2, Spirit move into upper-bracket final at IEM Krakow

Field Level Media|published: Mon 2nd February, 24:11 2026

YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year.

G2 Esports and Team Spirit advanced to the upper-bracket final of Group A on Sunday at the Intel Extreme Masters Krakow tournament in Poland.

G2 fought past FUT Esports 2-1, and Team Spirit beat Natus Vincere 2-0.

The lower bracket of Group A kicked off with FURIA and Astralis advancing by 2-1 decisions, while in Group B, MOUZ blanked NRG 2-0 and Aurora Gaming outlasted Team Falcons 2-1 in their openers.

The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament started with 24 teams and is currently in a 16-team double-elimination group stage involving best-of-three matches. The group winners earn spots in the playoff semifinals, the group runners-up head to the playoff quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams go to the playoff quarterfinals as low seeds.

The playoffs will consist of a single-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches until the grand final on Feb. 8, which will be best-of-five. The championship team will receive $400,000, and the runner-up will get $180,000.

On Sunday, FUT Esports opened with a 13-9 win on Mirage but G2 responded with 13-9 victories on Dust II and Ancient. Spaniard Alvaro "SunPayus" Garcia led G2 with 53 kills on a plus-14 kills-deaths differential.

The other Group A upper-bracket semi saw Spirit edge NaVi 16-14 in overtime on Mirage, then trounce them 13-3 on Dust II. Russia's Danil "donk" Kryshkovets paced Spirit with 47 kills on a plus-17 K-D.

FURIA rallied past The MongolZ, absorbing a 13-11 defeat on Mirage by winning 16-12 in OT on Inferno and 13-2 on Nuke. Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis of Latvia had 60 kills on a plus-15 K-D for FURIA.

Astralis defeated PARIVISION in three maps, as well. They opened with a 13-11 win on Overpass, fell 16-13 in OT on Dust II and bounced back for a 13-7 clincher on Ancient. Jakob "‘jabbi" Nygaard of Denmark racked up 70 kills on a plus-23 for Astralis.

MOUZ notched matching 13-9 victories over NRG on Dust II and Ancient. Israel's Lotan "Spinx" Giladi led the way with 40 kills on a plus-14.

Finally, Aurora faced Falcons and sandwiched a 13-7 win on Anubis and a 13-8 result on Inferno around a 13-10 setback on Mirage. Turkey's Caner "soulfly" Kesici and Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dortkardes had 52 and 51 kills for Aurora, both on plus-14 differentials.

The tournament continues Monday with six matches:

--Natus Vincere vs. FURIA (Group A lower-bracket semifinal)

--FUT Esports vs. Astralis (Group A lower-bracket semifinal)

--Team Vitality vs. 3DMAX (Group B upper-bracket semifinal)

--MOUZ vs. Aurora Gaming (Group B upper-bracket semifinal)

--BC.Game Esports vs. FaZe Clan (Group B lower-bracket quarterfinal)

--NRG vs. Team Falcons (Group B lower-bracket quarterfinal)

Intel Extreme Masters Krakow prize pool

1. $400,000

2. $180,000

3. $100,000

4. $60,000