G2.ig among early winners at ESL One Birmingham

(Photo credit: Nick Oza/The Republic via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

G2.ig earned a two-game sweep of BetBoom Team to take the lead in Group A of the ESL One Birmingham event after the first day of action Monday in England.

The other five matches in Group A all resulted in 1-1 ties, giving G2.ig the early advantage in the group stage. OG, Tundra Esports and HEROIC all picked up a win and a tie on Monday to forge a three-way lead in Group B.

Twelve teams, including eight regional qualifiers, are competing in this week's tournament for a share of a $1 million prize pool and 26,640 ESL Pro Tour points. The group stage (running Monday through Wednesday) splits teams into two round-robin groups of six, where all series consist of two games.

The top two teams from each group advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs, the third- and fourth-place teams from each group will move into the lower bracket and the other teams will be eliminated. The double-elimination playoff bracket features best-of-three matches except for Sunday's grand final, which is best-of-five.

On Monday, G2.ig showed some endurance in beating BetBoom in 57 minutes and 71 minutes, both on red. Du "Monet" Peng of China averaged a 12.0-2.0-16.5 kills-deaths-assists ratio to lead G2.ig.

Over in Group B, Xtreme Gaming is surprisingly in last place after its Elite League victory earlier this month. OG beat Xtreme in 43 minutes on green and 30 minutes on red before HEROIC topped Xtreme in 56 minutes on green and 28 minutes on red.

Tundra defeated Gaimin Gladiators in 43 minutes on red and 29 minutes on green. Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko of Russia posted a 13.5-3.5-6.5 average K-D-A for Tundra, while Finnish teammate Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen averaged a 11.0-1.5-13.0.

ESL One Birmingham Group Stage standings (W-T-L match record, map record)

Group A:

1. G2.ig, 1-1-0, 3-1

T2. Shopify Rebellion, 0-2-0, 2-2

T2. Talon Esports, 0-2-0, 2-2

T2. Team Falcons, 0-2-0, 2-2

T2. Team Liquid, 0-2-0, 2-2

6. BetBoom Team, 0-1-1, 1-3

Group B:

T1. HEROIC, 1-1-0, 3-1

T1. OG, 1-1-0, 3-1

T1. Tundra Esports, 1-1-0, 3-1

4. Team Spirit, 0-2-0, 2-2

5. Gaimin Gladiators, 0-1-1, 1-3

6. Xtreme Gaming, 0-0-2, 0-4

ESL One Birmingham prize pool

1. $300,000, 6,400 ESL Pro Tour points -- TBD

2. $175,000, 4,800 -- TBD

3. $120,000, 4,000 -- TBD

4. $85,000, 3,200 -- TBD

5-6. $57,500, 2,240 -- TBD

7-8. $47,500, 1,040 -- TBD

9-10. $30,000, 560 -- TBD

11-12. $25,000, 280 -- TBD

--Field Level Media