G2 sweep Astrails to win Group A at DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe

G2 Esports made quick work of Astralis with a sweep on Thursday to win Group A and advance to the upper bracket at the DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe event. G2 dispatched Astralis 2-0, bringing both teams to 2-1, and claimed the top spot via tiebreaker to advance to the four-team upper bracket. Astralis and Heroic -- who swept North -- finished second and third, respectively, in the group to advance to the lower bracket.

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 split into four groups competing for $160,000, runs through June 14. Group A round-robin play concluded 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. Astralis appeared to be in control early on Thursday, leading 6-1 on Dust II in the first map. They still led 10-8 shortly after halftime, but G2 won eight of the final 11 rounds for a 16-13 victory.

On Nuke in the second map, G2 charged out to a 7-2 lead and cruised to win it 16-7. Three players -- AWPer Kenny "kennyS" Schrub (plus-10) and riflers Francois "AmaNEk" Delaunay (plus-11) and Nemanja "huNter-" Kovac (plus-10) -- finished with kill-death differentials of plus-10 or better in the match. North started off hot against Heroic, opening a 6-0 lead on Train, but then went cold. Heroic dominated the rest of play, rallying to win 16-9 on Train and then cruising 16-4 on Vertigo.

Group B will open with two matches on Friday: mousesports vs. Complexity Gaming

MAD Lions vs. BIG DreamHack Masters Spring Europe standings, with win-loss record and point differential:

Group A 1. G2 Esports, 2-1, +14

2. Astralis, 2-1, +13 3. Heroic, 1-2, +12

4. North, 1-2, -39 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