Group A: Team Vitality 2 - 1 Team Liquid
Maps: Coastline (7-6), Oregon (2-6), Bank (6-1)
Season 7’s Pro League champions fell to the ‘second-best’ French team in the opening match of the day. The Brazilians were unable to exert dominance over Vitality, except for on the second map, and ended up losing out to their opponents’ strength.
Group A: NORA-Rengo 2 - 1 Obey Alliance
Maps: Border (6-4), Oregon (4-6), Bank (6-2)
Despite concerns about star player Wokka’s health, and curiosity as to ShiN’s chemistry with the NORA-Rengo (NR) lineup, the Japanese side emerged victorious over Obey Alliance in a statement of strength. The North American side struggled more than their counterparts, largely winning rounds in tighter fashion than NR did, and never truly looked in control as they slid to a disappointing loss.
Group B: G2 Esports 2 - 1 Mock-it Esports
Maps: Oregon (6-3), Villa (0-6), Bank (6-1)
World champions G2 Esports were given a scare by the Coupe de France (CdF) 2018 winners in their Group B match earlier today. Starting off strong, they only conceded 3 rounds in the first map, but were whitewashed on the newest map in the pool, Villa. However, it was then Mock-it’s turn to suffer a heavy defeat as they were smashed almost identically on one of G2’s best maps, with the mixed-European team asserting their dominance.
Group B: Ninjas in Pyjamas 2 - 0 Fnatic
Maps: Coastline (6-3), Clubhouse (6-1), Border (Not Played)
A classic Counter Strike rivalry came to life in Rainbow Six today when Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) drew first blood against Fnatic. The Brazilian team, despite having had less than a stellar Pro League season so far, defeated their Australian rivals with consummate ease, dropping just 4 rounds across the two maps played.
Group C: Evil Geniuses 2 - 0 Element Mystic
Maps: Border (6-2), Oregon (6-1), Consulate (Not Played)
APAC’s entry from the open qualifier was unable to get its Paris Major journey started off to a good start. Their opponents, the Six Invitational 2018 Grand Finalists, took them to the cleaners and shrugged off the Koreans' attempts at putting up a fight, demonstrating the gulf between the two teams’ experience and skill.
Group C: Millenium 2 - 0 Immortals
Maps: Oregon (6-2), Coastline (6-3), Consulate (Not Played)
The second Group C match was also a surprisingly one-sided affair. French team Millenium did not look to put a foot wrong despite playing with a stand-in, and the current joint-first Latin American team seemed to have no answer to their playstyle. Immortals unfortunately fell in two quick maps, as the DreamHack Austin 2018 winners moved closer to securing a place in the Quarter Finals.
Group D: Rogue 2 - 0 Team Secret
Maps: Villa (6-2), Coastline (7-6), Consulate (Not Played)
Rogue exacted sweet revenge for their DreamHack Valencia 2018 loss to Team Secret, as they pulled off a tight 2-0 victory against their cross-Atlantic counterparts. After an extremely strong Villa, it seemed that the evening would end young, with Rogue 5-1 up on Coastline. However, Team Secret pulled back an incredible 5 rounds in a row, but was eventually stopped on the very final round of Coastline, with Rogue just about holding on for the series victory.
Group D: FaZe Clan 2 - 0 OrgLess
Maps: Villa (7-6), Border (6-3), Consulate (Not Played)
The last game of the evening ended with a 2-0 scoreline as well, capping off a day of some fantastic games. FaZe Clan squeaked past OrgLess on the first map, with the last round victory coming for them in comical fashion. Muringa slipped past two OrgLess players despite being the only one alive, and denied the plant with 0 seconds on the clock. The second map was much more comfortable for his side, though, and the Brazilian team pulled away after being evenly matched at 3-3 to set up a meeting with Rogue for Day 2.
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