Astralis roll on at DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe

Astralis had little trouble in improving to 2-0, while G2 Esports needed every point they could get -- and then some -- to avoid falling to 0-2 as Group A play continued Wednesday at the DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe event. A day after making his debut with Astralis, Jakob "JUGi" Hansen again led his club to an easy win, as Astralis topped North 16-4 on Vertigo and 16-8 on Inferno in a matchup of opening day's two winners.

Wednesday's first match was a much different story, as G2 rebounded from a 16-13 loss on Nuke to take the next two maps and drop Heroic to 0-2 in a battle of Tuesday's losers. After G2 took Vertigo 16-13 to tie the match Wednesday, the teams finished regulation tied 15-15 on Mirage. G2 held a 2-1 advantage in each half of overtime to take the deciding map 19-17. The DreamHack Masters Jonkoping, a $250,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, originally was scheduled to be contested with 16 teams June 9-14 in Jonkoping, Sweden. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to move to an online format featuring regional competitions for Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania.

The DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe bracket, with 16 teams competing for $160,000, runs through June 14. Group A round-robin play concludes Thursday, followed by Group B (Friday through Sunday), then Group C (May 25-27) and Group D (May 28-30). Group winners proceed to the upper bracket of the playoffs, while the second- and third-place teams drop to the lower bracket. The playoffs are June 8-14, with all matches best-of-three except for the best-of-five grand final (where the upper-bracket winner will carry a 1-0 advantage into the match). The champion receives $54,000 from the $160,000 prize pool, plus 400 Pro Tour points.

The Group A schedule for Thursday: North vs. Heroic

Astralis vs. G2 Esports DreamHack Masters Spring Europe standings, with win-loss record and point differential:

Group A 1. Astralis, 2-0, +25

T2. North, 1-1, -20 T2. G2 Esports, 1-1, +2

4. Heroic, 0-2, -7 Group B

BIG, Complexity Gaming, MAD Lions, mousesports Group C

FaZe Clan, Fnatic, GODSENT, Team Spirit Group D

ENCE, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Vitality