MAD Lions, Cloud9 win Flashpoint playoff openers

MAD Lions and Cloud9 swept to victories Thursday as Flashpoint 1's double-elimination playoffs began. MAD Lions got past FunPlus Phoenix 2-0, and Cloud9 topped Gen.G Esports 2-0. The Thursday winners will square off Sunday in the upper-bracket semifinals, and the Thursday losers will meet Saturday in the losers-bracket opening round.

Eight Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams remain in contention for the $500,000 winners share of a $1 million prize pool. The runner-up team will pocket $250,000. The 12-team tournament began March 13 at FACEIT Studio in Los Angeles, but with the state of California's stay-at-home order, action subsequently was moved online.

All matches are best-of-three, including the final on April 19. MAD Lions overcame a 10-5 deficit to beat FunPlux Phoenix 16-14 on Nuke before rolling to a 16-2 victory on Dust II.

Cloud9 needed overtime to edge Gen.G 19-17 on Vertigo, then closed out the series with a 16-13 win on Nuke. The upper-bracket first round concludes Friday, when HAVU Gaming oppose Chaos Esports Club before Orgless square off with MIBR.

--Field Level Media