Evil Geniuses lead the pack at MDL Macau 2019

^{Title image courtesy of MarsMedia}

The first day of MDL Macau 2019 has come to an end and Evil Geniuses have taken the lead so far. 

Fourteen matches have been played in the first day of MDL Macau 2019 so far. Teams have played either three or four matches each. The kings of the North (America), Evil Geniuses, have come out showing a strong hand. Their opening series was nothing less than spectacular as they crushed the tournament favorites Virtus.pro in just 26 minutes with a 22:6 score. Although the 'king' himself, Syed Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan, is not attending the event, there has been no hiccups integrating Quinn "CC&C" Callahan into the mix. 

Perhaps it was their rough start, perhaps it is just an 'off' day or perhaps the CIS powerhouse isn't taking things serious as elimination isn't on the menu in the group stage. Whatever it is, Virtus.pro are now sitting at the bottom of the ranks with a 1:3 record just one spot and win above Invictus Gaming who was not able to secure a single victory all day. 

The group stage action will continue tomorrow, February 21st, at 04:00 CET. Seedings for the playoffs will be finalized at the end of the game day and teams will then gear up for the playoffs starting the following day. 

MDL Macau 2019 Teams

 Virtus.pro
 Team Liquid
 ViCi Gaming
 EHOME
 RNG 
 Evil Geniuses
 Invictus Gaming
Newbee

MDL Macau 2019 Format

• Bo1 round-robin Group Stage
  • Top 4 advance to upper bracket of the Playoffs
  • Bottom 4 advance to lower bracket of the Playoffs
• Double-elimination Playoffs
  • Lower Bracket Round 1 matches are Bo1, the Grand Final is Bo5
  • The other matches are Bo3

MDL Macau 2019 Prize Pool

1st place: $135,000
2nd place: $60,000
3rd place: $37,500
4th place: $22,500
5-6th place: $15,000
7-8th place: $7,500