Virtus.pro, Legacy move on at BLAST.tv Austin Major

Virtus.pro and Legacy became the first two teams to punch their tickets to Group Stage 3 at the BLAST.tv Austin Major thanks to a pair of 2-0 victories Sunday in Texas.

The teams swept their Round 3 High Matches to finish Group Stage 2 a perfect 3-0. Virtus.pro blanked paiN Gaming and Legacy defeated FaZe Clan.

Elsewhere Sunday, BetBoom Team and OG were the first two sides eliminated from the stage after they lost their Round 3 Low Matches.

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 Sunday, Virtus.pro edged paiN 13-10 on Dust II and 16-13 in overtime on Mirage. Russia's Evgenii "FL1T" Lebedev led Virtus.pro with 42 kills on a plus-12 kills-deaths differential.

Legacy topped FaZe Clan 13-7 on Mirage and 13-11 on Dust II. They were led by Brazil's Lucas "lux" Meneghini (38 kills, plus-14 K-D), but all five of their players finished with positive differentials.

In the Round 3 Low Matches, MIBR swept BetBoom 2-0, winning 13-11 on both Train and Anubis. The all-Brazilian MIBR roster leaned on Lucas "Lucaozy" Neves (36 kills, plus-9) and Rafael "saffee" Costa (33 kills, plus-12).

Team Falcons staved off elimination by beating OG 2-1. After OG won 13-11 on Dust II, Falcons prevailed 13-10 on Nuke and 13-6 on Mirage. Emil "Magisk" Reif of Denmark (53 kills, plus-21) and Nikola "NiKo" Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina (52 kills, plus-14) came up big for Falcons.

There were also four Round 3 Mid Matches, which were best-of-one. Lynn Vision Gaming beat TYLOO 13-5 on Anubis; 3DMAX defeated Nemiga Gaming 13-11 on Dust II; FURIA topped M80 13-8 on Dust II; and B8 beat HEROIC 13-10 on Dust II. The winners moved on to Round 4 High Matches.

The tournament continues Monday with six matches:

--paiN Gaming vs. Lynn Vision Gaming (Round 4 High)

--FaZe Clan vs. 3DMAX (Round 4 High)

--FURIA vs. B8 (Round 4 High)

--TYLOO vs. HEROIC (Round 4 Low)

--Nemiga vs. M80 (Round 4 Low)

--Team Falcons vs. MIBR (Round 4 Low)

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, 2-1

T3. FaZe Clan, 2-1

T3. FURIA, 2-1

T3. B8, 2-1

T3. 3DMAX, 2-1

T3. Lynn Vision Gaming, 2-1

T9. Nemiga Gaming, 1-2

T9. TYLOO, 1-2

T9. Team Falcons, 1-2

T9. MIBR, 1-2

T9. HEROIC, 1-2

T9. M80, 1-2

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

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