Team Spirit and FaZe Clan kicked off Group C play with wins Monday at the DreamHack Masters Spring - Europe event.
Spirit swept Fnatic with a 16-3 win on Nuke and a much tougher 16-14 decision on Inferno. FaZe Clan opened with a 16-12 win against GODSENT on Nuke, lost 16-14 on Inferno and roared back with a 16-7 victory on Dust II.
Nikolay "mir" Bityukov paced Spirit with 44 kills and a plus-13 differential. Leading the way for Faze Clan was Marcelo "coldzera" David with 71 kills and a plus-26 differential.
The DreamHack Masters Jonkoping, a $250 000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, originally was scheduled to be contested with 16 teams on 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 and Group B wrapped up Sunday. Group C play continues through Wednesday, with Group D beginning on Thursday and finishing on Saturday.
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.
Group C action continues Tuesday with Team Spirit facing FaZe Clan and Fnatic taking on GODSENT.
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
1. BIG, 3-0, +27
2. Complexity Gaming, 2-1, +18
3. MAD Lions, 1-2, +1
4. mousesports, 0-3, -46
Group C
1. Team Spirit, 1-0, +15
1. FaZe Clan, 1-0, +11
3. GODSENT, 0-1, -11
3. Fnatic, 0-1, -15
Group D
ENCE, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Vitality