Images: ESL
The Opening Stage was free of upsets as the tournament favourites advanced to the Playoffs.
The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) event of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024 kicked off on Wednesday (17 July) with its Opening Stage, where 14 teams fought for placement in the Playoffs.
While there was plenty of potential for upsets in this single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches, the results went as expected. 
Team Spirit, 
Natus Vincere (Na'Vi), 
Team Vitality, 
G2 Esports, 
FaZe Clan, 
MOUZ, and 
Virtus.pro (VP) all emerged victorious in their Opening Stage matches to advance to the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, 
MIBR, 
FURIA Esports, 
M80, 
The MongolZ, 
FlyQuest, 
Sashi Esport, and 
compLexity Gaming will have to join 
JiJieHao in the Play-In Stage, where the final Playoff spot will be up for grabs in a treacherous single-elimination bracket with best-of-one matches.
Here's how all the matches in the Opening Stage went down:
Team Spirit 2-0 MIBR
Still fresh from their victory in the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024, Spirit were widely considered the biggest favourites to claim the EWC's CS2 championship. The Russian juggernauts had a strong start as expected, soundly sweeping MIBR in the most one-sided series of the tournament so far where they only lost seven total rounds.
In game one at Nuke, Spirit came out swinging in the first half on the T side to end the half up 8-4. They then won five-straight rounds after the side switch to claim their first win of the series with a 13-4 score. Game two at Vertigo was an even bigger stomp, with Spirit winning the first half 11-1 before securing the series sweep up 13-3.
Boris “magixx” Vorobiev led the way for Spirit in their opening match at the EWC, notching a total of 33 kills against 16 deaths.
Natus Vincere 2-0 FURIA Esports
BLAST Premier: Spring Final runners-up Na'Vi also hit the ground running at the EWC by sweeping FURIA behind a masterful performance by Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy.
Game one at Nuke was a closely-contested affair, with the first half ending with Na'Vi on the CT side up 7-5. While FURIA managed to score six rounds in the second half, Na'Vi still ended up taking the first map with a 13-11 score.
In stark contrast to the series opener, game two at Mirage was thoroughly one-sided. Na'Vi were firing on all cylinders as they pulled off a perfect 12-0 half on the T side. While FURIA showed signs of life by winning five-straight rounds after the side switch, Na'Vi still closed out the series with a 13-5 score after 18 rounds.
B1t spearheaded Na'Vi's victory with 46 kills on 25 deaths, which included a 31-kill, 14-death masterclass performance in Nuke.
Team Vitality 2-0 M80
French superstar Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut put on a show as Vitality cemented themselves as another strong contender in the EWC with a 2-0 sweep over M80.
Game one at Vertigo was a heater, as Vitality on the CT side eked out a 7-5 lead heading into halftime. M80 managed to score six rounds in the second half, but Vitality also claimed the six rounds they needed to claim Vertigo up 13-11.
Vitality then shut things down in game two at Dust2, doubling up M80 with an 8-4 score in the first half on the T side. M80 only managed one more round win before Vitality closed out the series with a 13-5 score.
ZyWOo put up a total of 43 kills on 21 deaths in the match, including a showstopping 24-kill, 11-death performance in Vertigo.
G2 Esports 2-0 The MongolZ
Many questioned G2's decision to replace Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen with Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski two weeks before the start of the EWC. While G2 started their EWC campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 sweep over The MongolZ, it did little to dispel doubts over their recent roster change as Snax looked underwhelming in their opening match of the tournament.
The MongolZ were quick to take the fight to G2 in game one at Ancient, where the latter only managed a 7-5 lead in the first half on the CT side. Both teams then scored six rounds apiece in the second half, which resulted in G2 taking the first map up 13-11.
Game two on Inferno was a bloodbath that had to be decided in overtime, much to the chagrin of G2 fans who would have preferred a more comfortable win. The Mongolz were the ones leading after the first half this time around, up 7-5 on the CT side. A 7-5 second half in favour of G2 then forced overtime, where they won four rounds to one and eventually claimed the 16-13 victory.
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov led the way for G2 with 49 kills and 32 assists. Meanwhile, Snax finished with 25 kills and 39 assists, including a forgettable six-kill, 18-death showing in Ancient.
FaZe Clan 2-0 FlyQuest
Many expected FaZe to sweep FlyQuest in their opening match of the EWC. And while FaZe did just that, it's fair to say not many expected the sweep would be this close.
Game one at Anubis saw FlyQuest throw a haymaker by taking an unexpected 8-4 lead after the first half on the CT side. FaZe then had to go on a 8-4 run in the second half just to force overtime, where they prevailed four rounds to one to claim Anubis up 16-13.
Another closely-contested affair followed in Nuke, where the first half ended with both teams in a 6-6 deadlock. FaZe then narrowly won the second half, 7-5, on the CT side to secure the series sweep.
David “frozen” Čerňanský led the way for FaZe with 46 kills on 33 deaths. Meanwhile, Declan “Vexite” Portelli notably put up a valiant 44 kills on 39 deaths for FlyQuest.
MOUZ 2-1 Sashi Esport
The MOUZ-Sashi match was by far the closest contest of the Opening Stage, being the only one to go to three games. Despite a good effort from the Danes, MOUZ pulled off a reverse sweep to advance to the Playoffs.
Game one at Nuke saw MOUZ take a 7-5 first half lead as the CT side. However, Sashi turned the tables after the side switch by pulling off a 8-4 run to claim the first map of the series with a 13-11 score.
Sashi looked like they could pull off the upset in game two at Ancient, where the first half ended with both teams tied at six rounds apiece. But the second half saw MOUZ on the CT side seemingly flip the switch, going on a 7-1 run to claim the 13-7 win and force the series to a deciding game three.
Mirage hosted the match decider, with the first half ending with MOUZ on the CT side trying to fend off Sashi and nursing a 7-5 lead. But just like in Ancient, the second half saw MOUZ deny Sashi the chance to pull off the upset by going on a 6-0 run to close out the series.
Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo was the tip of the spear for MOUZ in their victory, racking up 56 kills on 31 deaths. Oliver “kwezz” Rasmussen notably had 47 kills on 45 deaths for Sashi in the loss.
Virtus.pro 2-0 Complexity
Finally, the Opening Stage concluded with VP bowling over Complexity behind a stellar showing from Denis “electroNic” Sharipov.
Game one at Anubis saw Complexity on the CT side put up a good fight, as they ended the first half in a 6-6 deadlock with their Russian opponents. However, VP started pulling away in the second half, where they went on a 7-3 run to claim the first map of the series up 13-9.
VP then asserted their dominance in game two at Dust2, finishing the first half up 8-4 on the T side before winning five-straight rounds after the side switch to secure the series sweep.
ElectroNic played a key role in VP claiming a spot in the Playoffs, finishing the series with a total of 41 kills on 20 deaths.
With the conclusion of the Opening Stage, the EWC's CS2 tournament will now be moving to its next phase: the Play-In Stage. Here, the seven losing teams from the Opening Stage will join Middle Eastern qualifier winner JiJieHao in a treacherous single-elimination bracket to decide the final team heading to the Playoffs.
Here are the initial matchups for the Play-In Stage:
- Sashi Esport vs JiJieHao
- FlyQuest vs FURIA Esports
- The MongolZ vs MIBR
- M80 vs Complexity
