MOUZ, SAW advance to IEM Cologne semifinals

MOUZ and SAW won their respective quarterfinal matches Friday to advance to the final four of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne playoffs in Germany.

MOUZ swept G2 Esports 2-0 and SAW outlasted FaZe Clan 2-1 to move into the semifinals. MOUZ will meet Natus Vincere in the next round, while SAW draws Team Vitality.

Sixteen teams began play in the double-elimination play-in stage of the $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament.

The group stage featured two double-elimination groups of eight. The group winners moved directly to the playoff semifinals, the group runners-up advanced to the playoff quarterfinals as high seeds, and the third-place teams advanced to the playoff quarterfinals as low seeds.

The single-elimination playoffs will run Friday through Sunday. All tournament matches are best-of-three with the exception of the grand final, which will be best-of-five. The champion earns berths in the IEM Katowice event and the BLAST Premier World Final while also pocketing $400,000.

On Friday, MOUZ edged G2 13-9 on Dust II and 13-8 on Mirage. MOUZ was paced by Finland's Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo, who had 37 kills and a plus-14 kills-to-deaths differential.

SAW beat FaZe Clan 13-6 on Inferno before FaZe answered with a 13-11 victory on Anubis. The final map, Nuke, required overtime before SAW prevailed 16-14. Michel "ewjerkz" Pinto had a match-high 60 kills and a plus-15 K-D to guide the all-Portuguese SAW squad.

The tournament continues Saturday with the playoff semifinals:

--Natus Vincere vs. MOUZ

--Team Vitality vs. SAW

Intel Extreme Masters Cologne prize pool, with money and BLAST Premier points

1. $400,000, 3,000 points

2. $180,000, 2,000 points

3-4. $80,000, 1,200 points

5-6. $40,000, 500 points -- G2 Esports, FaZe Clan

7-8. $24,000, 300 points -- paiN Gaming, Team Liquid

9-12. $16,000, no points -- The MongolZ, Astralis, Team Falcons, Complexity Gaming

13-16. $10,000, no points -- 9z Team, Team Spirit, Virtus.pro, FURIA Esports

17-20. $4,500, no points -- BIG, HEROIC, MIBR, Eternal Fire

21-24. $2,500, no points -- ALTERNATE aTTaX, 3DMAX, Imperial Esports, FlyQuest

--Field Level Media