EG sweep FURIA, reach final at ESL Pro League NA

Evil Geniuses swept FURIA Esports on Saturday to reach the grand final of ESL Pro League Season 11's North American competition, setting up a third battle with Team Liquid. EG took the opening map of the best-of-three series, 16-10 on Vertigo, after dominating the second half 9-2. In the second map, they jumped out to a 9-0 lead on Inferno and nearly blew the lead but hung on to clinch the match with a 16-14 win.

The victory moved EG into Sunday's best-of-five final against Liquid, who have beaten EG in two close matches since April 3. In the final group-stage match, Liquid beat EG 2-1, with all three maps decided by three points or fewer, including a 22-19 double-overtime final map on Inferno. On Friday, Liquid swept EG in two tight maps (16-14 on Nuke, 16-12 on Dust II) in the upper-bracket final.

As the upper-bracket champions, Liquid will open the final with a one-map advantage, requiring EG to take three of four maps to win the title. The winner of the $219,000 event will claim $75,000 -- in addition to money earned for group-stage victories -- along with 550 Pro Tour points and 1,400 BLAST Premier points.

The ESL Pro League Season 11 was due to be held in Malta, with 24 teams set to compete for a $750,000 prize pool. However, the tournament was moved online and split into regional events due to the coronavirus pandemic, with 18 teams in the European event and six in the North American competition. Prize pool ($USD, Pro Tour points, BLAST Premier points)

1. $75,000, 550, 1,400 2. $30,000, 400, 700

3. $18,000, 250, 438 -- FURIA Esports 4. $13,000, 150, 438 -- MIBR

5. $5,000, 90, 0 -- 100 Thieves 6. $3,000, 60, 0 -- Swole Patrol

Teams also earned $5,000 for each group stage win: $15,000 apiece for Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses and FURIA Esports

$10,000 apiece for MIBR, 100 Thieves and Swole Patrol --Field Level Media