G2 Esports continue ascent in Road to Rio-Europe event

G2 Esports recorded a sweep on Thursday to elevate into second place in Group B of the ESL One: Road to Rio - Europe tournament. G2 Esports (4-2) dispatched cOntact Gaming (0-6) after posting a 16-11 victory on Mirage and 16-6 win on Overpass. The triumph moved G2 Esports past idle GODSENT (3-2) and Copenhagen Flames (3-2) in the Group B standings.

Also on Thursday, North (3-3) secured a 2-0 victory over Movistar Riders (2-4) after notching a 16-11 win on Overpass and 16-12 triumph on Vertigo. The ESL One: Rio Major, a $2 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, was originally scheduled to be held May 11-24 in Rio de Janeiro, but it was pushed back to Nov. 9-22 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The regional qualifying events for Europe, North America and South America started April 22. Play in the Commonwealth of Independent States region began Thursday, with the Asia and Oceania regions kicking off Wednesday. The teams are competing for a total of $255,000 in the online tournaments, as well as for Regional Major Ranking points to be applied toward berths at the ESL One: Rio Major.

The European event has 16 teams divided into two groups for round-robin play consisting of best-of-three matches. The top two finishers from each group advance to the upper bracket of a double-elimination playoff, with the third- and fourth-place finishers advancing to the playoff's lower bracket. All playoff matches are best-of-three prior to the grand final. The title match will be best-of-five, with the team emerging from the upper bracket starting with a one-map advantage.

The European champion will receive 500 Pro Tour points and 1,600 Regional Major Rankings points, plus $33,000 of the $115,000 prize pool. The runner-up will get 350 Pro Tour points, 1,500 RMR points and $21,500. Group A pool play will conclude on Saturday with four matches. Complexity and Dignitas, both eliminated with 1-5 records, will face off in a meaningless game for playoff positioning. Vitality and Heretics will play to determine one of the 4-3 teams, while Astralis will take on ENCE and Fnatic will play NiP in matches that will determine both playoff qualifiers and who gets the group's top seed.

Group B will feature to matches on Friday before concluding pool play with four matches Sunday. Friday's scheduled matches:

Group B GODSENT vs. mousesports

Copenhagen Flames vs. FaZe Clan ESL One: Road to Rio - Europe standings, with win-loss record and point differential:

Group A x-T1. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 5-1, +66

x-T1. Astralis, 5-1, +54 T3. Fnatic, 3-3, +7

T3. Team Heretics, 3-3, -1 T3. ENCE, 3-3, -10

T3. Team Vitality, 3-3, -19 e-T7. Complexity Gaming, 1-4, -48

e-T7. Dignitas, 1-5, -49 Group B

x-1. FaZe Clan, 5-0, +52 2. G2 Esports, 4-2, +12

T3. Copenhagen Flames, 3-2, +18 T3. GODSENT, 3-2, -3

5. North, 3-3, -5 6. mousesports, 2-3, +9

7. Movistar Riders, 2-4, -40 e-8. c0ntact Gaming, 0-6, -66

x-Clinched playoff berth e-Eliminated from playoff contention