Top-seeded Astralis notched their second consecutive win, while No. 2 Team Liquid suffered an upset defeat in Round 2 action of the New Legends Stage of the StarLadder Berlin Major on Thursday.
The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event includes 16 teams in the second phase, with the "Swiss System" format beginning with eight elimination matches determined by seeding from the first phase.
Kicking off Thursday's Round 2 "high" matches, NRG Esports became the first team to advance through to the 2-0 pool of teams thanks to a surprise 16-9 win on Dust2 over Liquid.
In a battle of Nos. 5 and 6 seeds, Team Vitality topped FaZe Clan with a confident 16-7 win on Dust2, while No. 3 seed ENCE handled MiBR with a 16-8 triumph on Inferno.
Finally, No. 1 seed Astralis also moved into the 2-0 pool with a 16-7 win on Nuke over G2 Esports.
In the Round 2 "low" matches, featuring losers from Monday's first round, AVANGAR edged Renegades with a 16-13 win on Vertigo. Natus Vincere dispatched DreamEaters with a 16-7 win on Overpass, and CR4ZY beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 16-10 on Train to earn their first New Legends Stage win. Finally, mousesports also moved to 1-1 with a 16-13 win on Inferno over North.
Round 3 continues Friday with the following schedule:
High matches:
--ENCE vs Vitality
--Astralis vs. NRG
Mid matches:
--Natus Vincere vs. mousesports
--Liquid vs. AVANGAR
--MiBR vs. G2
--FaZe vs. CR4ZY
Low matches:
--Renegades vs. DreamEaters
--NiP vs. North
Round 4 high, mid and low matches continue Saturday and in 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