FURIA Esports rally to win in ESL North America play

FURIA Esports emerged victorious in their opener of the North America portion of the ESL Pro League Season 11 tournament with a 2-1 win over Team Liquid on Sunday. Team Liquid recorded a 16-10 victory on Nuke to claim the early advantage before FURIA answered with a 16-11 win on Inferno and 16-13 triumph on Mirage.

Week 2 play begins Monday as Evil Geniuses face Swole Patrol and MIBR challenge FURIA Esports. The coronavirus pandemic forced the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament into an online-only format, and organizers split the event into European and North America divisions, with each division crowning its own champion.

North America pool play will run through Friday, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs. The later rounds of the playoffs originally were scheduled to be held in Broomfield, Colo. The North America winner will take home $75,000 out of a $219,000 prize pool.

ESL Pro League Season 11: North America standings, through Sunday: 1. Team Liquid, 2-2, +17

2. 100 Thieves, 2-1, +15 3. FURIA Esports, 1-0, +2

4. Swole Patrol, 1-1, -2 5. Evil Geniuses, 0-1, -9

6. MIBR, 0-1, -23 --Field Level Media