MOUZ edge paiN in BLAST Rivals Spring opener

MOUZ eked out a 2-1 win over paiN Gaming as play got underway Wednesday in the BLAST Rivals Spring event at Copenhagen, Denmark.

Joining MOUZ in logging an opening-match victory in Group A was Team Vitality, who beat Wildcard 2-0.

In Group B, Team Spirit swept FlyQuest 2-0 and Team Falcons downed FaZe Clan 2-0.

The eight-team, $350,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament is beginning with the teams split into two double-elimination groups.

The winners of each group will move to the playoff semifinals. The group runners-up will head to the quarterfinals as high seeds, and the third-place teams will land in the quarterfinals as low seeds. The fourth-place teams in each group will be eliminated.

The single-elimination playoffs run Friday through Sunday. All group-stage matches and playoff matches are best-of-three except for the grand final, which will be best-of-five. The champion team will receive $125,000, and the runner-up will get $75,000.

On Wednesday, MOUZ opened with a 13-9 win on Nuke before paiN claimed a 13-11 victory on Inferno. MOUZ took the decisive third map 13-0 on Dust II.

Israel's Dorian "xertioN" Berman and Hungary's Adam "torzsi" Torzsas each finished with 51 kills and a plus-19 kill-death differential for MOUZ. Uruguay's Franco "dgt" Garcia produced 44 kills and a plus-3 K-D differential for paiN.

Vitality dumped Wildcard 13-7 on Inferno, 13-6 on Dust II behind 43 kills and a plus-23 K-D differential from Great Britain's William "mezii" Merriman. The United States' Josh "JBa" Barutt posted 27 kills and a minus-3 K-D differential for Wildcard.

Spirit stomped FlyQuest 13-2 on Mirage, 13-9 on Nuke. Russia's Danil "donk" Kryshkovets finished with 45 kills and a plus-20 K-D differential for Spirit. New Zealand's Corey "nettik" Browne notched 25 kills and a minus-6 K-D differential for FlyQuest.

Falcons flew past FaZe 13-6 on Dust II, 13-10 on Ancient. Russia's lya "m0NESY" Osipov registered 40 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential for Team Falcons. The United States' Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski wound up with 32 kills and an even K-D differential for FaZe Clan.

The group stage concludes Thursday with four matches:

--Group A elimination match: paiN Gaming vs. Wildcard

--Group A winners match: MOUZ vs. Team Vitality

--Group B elimination match: FlyQuest vs. FaZe Clan

--Group B winners match: Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons

BLAST Rivals Spring prize pool

1. $125,000

2. $75,000

3-4. $40,000

5-6. $25,000

7-8. $10,000

--Field Level Media