The higher-seeded teams won six of the eight matches on Wednesday in the opening round of the New Legends Stage of the StarLadder Berlin Major, with both upsets coming in exciting fashion.
The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event includes 16 teams in the second phase, with the "Swiss System" format beginning with eight best-of-one matches determined by seeding from the first phase.
Top-seeded Astralis dispatched 16th-seeded DreamEaters with a 16-9 victory on Dust II, while second-seeded Team Liquid beat 15th-seeded CR4ZY by the same margin on Mirage. Third-seeded ENCE cruised by No. 14 AVANGAR 16-5 on Overpass, but fourth-seeded Natus Vincere had more trouble.
Leading 10-3 midway through their battle with G2 Esports on Overpass, Na'Vi couldn't maintain the edge and were forced to overtime. G2 took the early advantage in the extra session and hung on for a 19-17 victory.
The day's other upset came in a contested battle between eighth-seeded Renegades and ninth-seeded NRG Esports. NRG took a 10-5 lead on Dust II and held on to win 16-14.
The fifth (FaZe Clan), sixth (Team Vitality) and seventh (MiBR) seeds each advanced. FaZe beat mousesports 16-8 on Mirage, Vitality downed North 16-9 on Inferno, and MiBR scooted by Ninjas in Pyjamas 16-12 on Dust II.
The winning teams will face each other Thursday in Round 2 "high" matches while the losers meet in Round 2 "low" matches.
High matches
Team Liquid vs. NRG Esports
FaZe Clan vs. Team Vitality
ENCE vs. MiBR
Astralis vs. G2 Esports
Low matches
Renegades vs. AVANGAR
Natus Vincere vs. DreamEaters
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. CR4ZY
North vs. mousesports
Round 3 high, mid, and low matches will be held Friday, with Round 4 on Saturday and Round 5 on Sunday. Matches are one game until the elimination and advancement matches, which will be best-of-three.
The top eight teams will move on to the New Champions Stage, set for Sept. 5-8, featuring the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, with all matches being best-of-three. The bottom eight teams will be eliminated.
The championship team will receive $500,000, and the runner-up will pocket $150,000.
--Field Level Media