Gen.G, MIBR advance in BLAST Spring Showdown - Americas

Gen.G Esports and MIBR remained in contention at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown's Americas event on Friday by earning 2-1 playoff wins. Gen.G, who edged Triumph in three tight games, will oppose FURIA Esports on Saturday in one of the event's two "finals." MIBR, who came from behind to defeat Cloud9 in three games, will face Evil Geniuses on Saturday in the other "final."

The two Saturday winners will receive berths in the four-team, $250,000 online BLAST Premier Spring Americas Finals, scheduled for June 16-21. The Saturday losers will square off Sunday with another spot in the Spring Americas Finals at stake. Team Liquid already earned a place in the Spring Americas Finals based on their results in the Jan. 31-Feb. 16 regular season.

The BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, a 10-team, $325,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, originally was scheduled for this week at a site to be announced, but plans were altered due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was split into two online competitions: a 10-team, $182,500 European division and an eight-team, $142,500 Americas division. The Spring Showdown Americas event was divided into two four-team groups for round-robin play. Each group game consisted of a single map, with three points awarded for a win and one for a tie.

The winners of the two playoff finals will each earn $35,000, and the third-place team will pocket $20,000, with all three moving on to the Spring Americas Finals. The champion of the Spring Americas Finals will receive a berth in the eight-team, $1.5 million BLAST Premier Global Final, set for Jan. 18-24, 2021, at a site to be determined. The Global Final will also include the winners of the Fall Finals and the ESL One Rio Major, two teams from the European Spring Finals as well as the top three teams from the BLAST Premier Circuit.

On Friday, Gen.G opened with a 16-14 win on Mirage before Triumph drew level with a 19-17 overtime victory on Nuke. Triumph led 13-6 on the decisive third map, Inferno, but Gen.G claimed 10 of the last 11 rounds -- including each of the final four rounds -- to prevail 16-14. The United States' Kenneth "koosta" Suen led Gen.G with 76 kills, including a team-best 23 on the final map, and a plus-7 kill-death differential. Another U.S. player, Michael "Grim" Wince, wound up with match-high totals of 77 kills and a plus-17 kill-death differential for Triumph.

Cloud9 posted a 16-12 win over MIBR on Overpass before MIBR rallied to capture Inferno 16-8 and Dust II 16-9. MIBR's all-Brazilian roster was led by Fernando "fer" Alvarenga with 58 kills, while Epitacio "TACO" de Melo and Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo had 56 kills apiece. TACO posted a team-best plus-12 kill-death differential. Josh "oSee" Ohm, a U.S. player for Cloud9, produced match-leading figures of 65 kills and a plus-17 kill-death differential.

Remaining playoff schedule: Saturday

Final No. 1 -- FURIA Esports vs. Gen.G Esports Final No. 2 -- Evil Geniuses vs. MIBR

Sunday Third-place match -- Saturday losers

BLAST Premier Spring Showdown - Americas prize pool 1-2. $35,000

3. $20,000 4. $17,500

5-6. $10,000 -- Cloud9, Triumph 7-8. $7,500 -- Chaos Esports Club, 100 Thieves

--Field Level Media

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