On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
HEROIC rallied for a 2-1 victory over Team Liquid on Wednesday as the play-in bracket for the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice event got underway in Poland.
Sixteen teams are competing in the double-elimination play-in bracket, chasing eight spots in the group stage of the $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. All play-in matches are best-of-three.
Eight teams -- G2 Esports, Team Spirit, The MongolZ, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, MOUZ, Natus Vincere and Team Falcons -- already are through to the group stage based on their global standing early this month.
Group play will see the 16 teams split into two double-elimination brackets, with all matches best-of-three. The two group-phase winners will advance directly to the semifinals, the two group-phase runners-up will move to the quarterfinals as high seeds, and the two third-place teams will make the quarterfinals as low seeds.
The playoff will be single elimination, with best-of-three matches for the quarterfinals and semifinals ahead of a best-of-five grand final on Feb. 9. The champion will earn $400,000.
On Wednesday in the upper-bracket opening round, Team Liquid opened with a 13-9 win on Anubis, but HEROIC came back to claim Nuke 13-11 and Dust II 13-8.
Belarus' Andrey "tN1R" Tatarinovich and Turkey's Yasin "xfl0ud" Koc each registered 49 kills for HEROIC. tN1R produced a team-best plus-2 kill-death differential. Poland's Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak logged 48 kills and a match-high plus-12 K-D differential for Liquid.
The day's other seven matches all resulted in 2-0 sweeps: Eternal Fire over Complexity, 3DMax over FlyQuest, MIBR over Astralis, paiN Gaming over Virtus.pro, GamerLegion over SAW, Wildcard over BIG and FURIA Esports over Imperial Female.
The Thursday schedule:
--Upper-bracket Round 2: HEROIC vs. Eternal Fire
--Upper-bracket Round 2: 3DMax vs. MIBR
--Upper-bracket Round 2: paiN Gaming vs. GamerLegion
--Lower-bracket Round 1: FlyQuest vs. Astralis
--Lower-bracket Round 1: Virtus.pro vs. SAW
--Lower-bracket Round 1: BIG vs. Imperial Female
The last upper-bracket Round 2 match (Wildcard vs. FURIA Esports) and the last lower-bracket Round 1 match (Team Liquid vs. Complexity) are scheduled for Friday.
Intel Extreme Masters Katowice prize pool
1. $400,000
2. $180,000
3-4. $80,000
5-6. $40,000
7-8. $24,000
9-12. $16,000
13-16. $10,000
17-20. $4,500
21-24. $2,500
More must-reads:
- Yankees quickly pull plug on key trade-deadline acquisition
- Kyren Williams contract extension with Rams a win for both sides
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
Bears receive new stadium pitch from Chicago mayor
It might be too little, too late, but the Chicago Bears received a new pitch from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson about building the new stadium project in the city. The Bears are moving full steam ahead with the site in Arlington Heights. Mayor Brandon Johnson wants the Chicago Bears in Chicago During an appearance on 670 The Score, Johnson argued that the Bears “belong” to Chicago and wants to keep them in the city for the next 100 years. “Look, the Bears belong in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said on the “Rahimi Harris Show." “And I believe that people know that. There’s a tremendous momentum. As you know, Joe Mansueto with the Fire, we’re talking about hundreds of million dollars to build a new stadium. The 1901 Project on the west side of Chicago, you’re talking about millions of dollars of investments… “We’re on a nice little hot winning streak here. So, my door’s going to remain open. And the hope is that Chicago Bears fans will rally around this moment to challenge all of us to come together to figure out a path to make sure the 100-year history doesn’t end in this moment and we can set ourselves up for the next 100 years.” Johnson points to low crime rates in Chicago Johnson touted declining crime rates as a reason for the Bears to stay in the city. “Homicides are down 32%, shooting victims are down almost 40%,” Johnson said. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of investment. So, my door still remains open. And perhaps because I am a Cubs fan, I just remain optimistic, no matter what the circumstances are. But they really do belong in the city of Chicago.” Johnson hasn’t had conversations with the Bears in the last two weeks. For now, CEO Kevin Warren and the organization are trying to get enough government support to start building in Arlington Heights as soon as possible. If Warren doesn’t get the help he needs, the Bears could again try to angle for lakefront property in Chicago.
Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
TalkSPORT: Surprise third Premier League club enter race for Chelsea ace valued at £20m
West Ham have entered the race to sign forgotten Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling this summer according to reports. Sterling is one of a number of players the Blues are looking to offload this summer, although he’s likely to be one of the more difficult ones to find a new solution for. The 30-year-old’s career has been on a steady decline since he joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £50m in 2022. West Ham enter race for Raheem Sterling Sterling has had a difficult time at Stamford Bridge and was even booed by Chelsea supporters during the 2023/2024 season. Enzo Maresca made it clear the England international wasn’t part of his plans, and Sterling completed a deadline day loan move to rivals Arsenal last summer, but scored just once in 28 appearances for the Gunners. Sterling has since returned to Chelsea and is training with a group of players the Blues are looking to sell, but he is attracting interest from clubs. Chelsea are thought to want around £20m for Sterling, who has reportedly also been offered to Italian Champions Napoli. However, there appears to be growing interest from the Premier League, and talkSPORT have reported West Ham have joined the race. The report adds Fulham and Crystal Palace have interest, as well as Juventus, whilst Sterling’s preference would be to stay in London. Sterling has two years left on his contract, and more important than any transfer fee is getting his reported wages of over £300,000 per week off the books. No suitors for Ben Chilwell Whilst Sterling appears to be attracting interest from clubs, the same can’t be said for another of Chelsea’s top earners Ben Chilwell. Chelsea are desperate to offload Chilwell, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Crystal Palace where he won the FA Cup. Chilwell is reportedly earning around £200,000 per week, but as of yet no suitors have emerged for the 28-year-old, and Chelsea could face a difficult task offloading the left back.
Green Bay Packers: Strong Reactions Erupt After Unofficial Depth Chart Release
The Green Bay Packers have finally updated their 2025 depth chart, and there’s a lot to unpack about it. There are unsurprising details like Jordan Love being the No. 1 quarterback and Josh Jacobs being named as the top option in the running back room. Those are simply giveaways. At the same time, there is also compelling information from the depth chart that may or may not leave fans surprised. For one, the wide receiver pecking order has exciting rookie Matthew Golden behind Jayden Reed, who is listed as a starter alongside Dontayvion Wicks. Meanwhile, the left tackle depth chart has Rasheed Walker in front of Jordan Morgan. Of course, it is worth reiterating that this is an unofficial depth chart and that there are still big possibilities of changes on it, as the 2025 NFL season nears. Fans react to Green Bay Packers’ first unofficial 2025 depth chart Rob Demovsky of ESPN also shared the depth chart, and it’s garnered quite a reaction from fans online. “Golden should be starting, wicks and Doubs are average at best,” said a fan on X. Another one said: “Forgot we signed Hardman. Have heard absolutely nothing on him this camp” From a commenter: “Bob I just woke up from a 2 month coma why is Bo Melton under the CBs” “Why tf is Golden a backup slot wr…,” a triggered social media user posted. Via a different commenter: “Jordan Morgan still can’t crack the starting lineup. Awesome waste of a first round pick ” Said another: “Why do the packers always try so hard to phase their rookies in instead of just playing them. They did the same with cooper was last year when all the fans were begging to play him. Golden better be a starter week 1”
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
