Hellraisers roll in opener of ESL One Birmingham - Europe, CIS

Hellraisers and Team Secret were among teams that rolled to sweeps Sunday on the first day of round-robin play of the ESL One Birmingham Online tournament, Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States division. Vikin.gg and qualifier Aggressive Mode joined Secret in riding sweeps in Group A action. Hellraiser was the only team to start undefeated in Group B in best-of-three play.

Secret dispatched Liquid in 35 and 38 minutes. Vikin.gg was even more impressive in defeating Gambit Esports in 34 and 20 minutes for the sweep. Aggressive Mode swept Team Unique in the battle of qualifiers, needing 43 minutes on the first map before rolling in just 19 minutes on the second.

Natus Vincere and Team Nigma did not see action Sunday and will square off in Group A on Monday. Nigma are attempting to retain their momentum after winning the WeSave! Charity Play's Europe-CIS division in March. Hellraisers got off to a strong start in Group B, defeating FlyToMoon in 33 and 22 minutes to earn the sweep.

Cyber Legacy rallied to defeat Winstrike Team after dropping the first map in an epic 50 minutes. But CL rebounded to take the second in 33 minutes before competing the comeback in 19 minutes. Ninjas in Pyjamas needed three matches to down Alliance. NiP won the first in 36 minutes but dropped the second in 39. NiP completed the rally in 36 minutes in the decider.

OG and VP.Prodigy did not play Sunday but will be in action Monday, with OG taking on FTM and VP.P playing Hellraisers. The top two teams in each group will move into the upper bracket of the double-elimination playoffs, and the third- and fourth-place teams will advance to the playoffs' lower bracket in the $200,000 tourney.

ESL One Birmingham had been scheduled for May 26-31 in Birmingham, England, before plans were changed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Play resumes Monday with seven matches:

Secret vs. Gambit NiP vs. Winstrike

OG vs. FTM Nigman vs. Na'Vi

VP.P vs. HR vs. CL

Liquid vs. Vikin.gg ESL One Birmingham 2020 - Online: Europe and CIS standings through Sunday:

Group A: T1. Aggressive Mode, 1-0

T1. Team Secret, 1-0 T1. Vikin.gg, 1-0

4-5: Natus Vincere, Team Nigman, 0-0 T6. Gambit Esports, 0-1

T6. Team Liquid, 0-1 T6. Team Unique, 0-1

Group B: T1. Hellraisers, 1-0

T1. Cyber Legacy, 1-0 T1. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 1-0

4-5: OG, VP.Prodigy, 0-0 T6. Alliance, 0-1

T6. Winstrike Team, 0-1 T6. FlyToMoon, 0-1

--Field Level Media

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