HEROIC roar back for CS:GO win at Esports World Cup

HEROIC rallied from a map down and took the decisive third map in overtime while defeating Team Spirit 2-1 on Wednesday in the opening day of action in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Aurora Gaming, 3DMAX and TYLOO also pulled off 2-1 victories despite losing the first map. Team Vitality and The MongolZ were the only two teams to record 2-0 wins.

The victors all moved into the quarterfinals.

The $1.25 million tournament features the 16 teams playing in a single-elimination bracket.

The championship team will receive $500,000 and 1,000 Esports World Cup club points. The runner-up will get $230,000 and 750 EWC club points.

On Wednesday, Team Spirit jumped on top with a 13-5 win on Ancient, but HEROIC bounced back to take Nuke 13-3 and Mirage 16-14 in overtime. Sweden's Simon "yxngstxr" Boije recorded 51 kills and a plus-8 kill-death differential for HEROIC. Russia's Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov posted 59 kills and a plus-18 K-D differential for Team Spirit.

After FaZe Clan triumphed 13-6 on Inferno, Aurora Gaming rolled 13-3 on Mirage and 13-7 on Overpass. Ozgur "woxic" Eker produced 47 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential for all-Turkish Aurora Gaming. The United States' Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski starred for FaZe Clan with 52 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential.

TYLOO fell 13-8 on Inferno against Astralis, then earned a 13-7 win on Overpass and a 13-10 victory on Train. Qianhao "Moseyuh" Chen guided all-Chinese TYLOO with 55 kills and a plus-9 K-D differential. Victor "Staehr" Staehr wound up with 49 kills and a plus-2 K-D differential for all-Danish Astralis.

After Natus Vincere topped 3DMAX 13-10 on Ancient, 3DMAX powered to a 13-9 victory on Inferno and a 13-11 win on Nuke. Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro racked up 51 kills and a plus-3 K-D differential for all-French 3DMAX. Kosovo's Drin "makazze" Shaqiri piled up 58 kills and a plus-12 K-D differential for Natus Vincere.

Team Vitality downed Team Liquid in two maps, but each featured a tight margin: 13-11 on Mirage, then 19-16 in double overtime on Dust II. France's Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut totaled 51 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential for Team Vitality. Canada's Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken led Team Liquid with 53 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential.

The MongolZ cruised past GamerLegion 13-7 on Overpass and 13-3 on Inferno. Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren led the all-Mongolian victors with 39 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential. Sweden's Fredrik "REZ" Sterner logged 29 kills and a minus-3 K-D differential.

The Thursday schedule:

--First round, MOUZ vs. Virtus.pro

--First round, G2 Esports vs. Team Falcons

--Quarterfinal, Team Vitality vs. TYLOO

--Quarterfinal, 3DMAX vs. The MongolZ

The Friday schedule:

--Quarterfinal, MOUZ/Virtus.pro winner vs. G2 Esports/Team Falcons winner

--Quarterfinal, Aurora Gaming vs. HEROIC

The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the final and the third-place match to be contested on Sunday.

Prize pool for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with money winnings and Esports World Cup club points

1. $500,000, 1,000 points

2. $230,000, 750 points

3. $130,000, 500 points

4. $70,000, 300 points

5-8. $40,000, 200 points

9-16. $20,000, no points -- Team Liquid, Astralia, Natus Vincere, GamerLegion, FaZe Clan, Team Spirit, two teams TBD

--Field Level Media