Cloud9 and FURIA Esports improved to 3-0 in Group D by picking up wins Friday at ESL Pro League Season 16 in Malta.

Cloud9 swept Movistar Riders 2-0, while FURIA handed Team Liquid their first loss, getting by 2-1. Evil Geniuses also notched their first win of the group stage, beating Eternal Fire 2-0.

The $835,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event features 24 teams vying for a $175,000 first prize and a berth in the BLAST Premier World Final. Only the Season 16 champion will clinch a spot in the $1 million Final set for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Season 16 winner also nabs a berth in the $1 million Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 12 in Poland.

The Pro League teams were divided into four groups for the initial round-robin phase. The four group champions advance to the playoff quarterfinals, while the teams that come in second and third in each group move on to the playoffs' Round of 12.

All matches in the group stage and the playoffs are best-of-three until the best-of-five final on Oct. 2.

Groups A, B and C action have been completed. Group D will be played through Sunday. MOUZ won Group C, G2 Esports cruised in Group B as did Team Vitality in Group A.

Cloud9 cruised past Movistar Riders, 16-7 on Inferno and 16-4 on Vertigo. Russia's Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov had 43 kills for Cloud9, and teammate and countryman Timofey "interz" Yakushin added 41. Both players posted plus-26 kills-to-deaths differentials.

Alejandro "alex" Masanet led the all-Spanish Riders with 29 kills.

FURIA opened with a 16-10 win on Mirage before Liquid responded with a 16-7 victory on Inferno. The decisive map was Vertigo, where FURIA dominated in a 16-4 victory.

Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato led the all-Brazilian FURIA roster with 63 kills on a plus-21 K-D. Latvia's Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis led Liquid with 52 kills, and Canadian teammate Keith "NAF" Markovic added 51 kills with a plus-8, the only positive K-D on the team.

Evil Geniuses raced past Eternal Fire 16-9 on Overpass and 16-4 on Dust II. Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte posted 44 kills and Kazakhstan's Sanzhar "neaLaN" Iskhakov had 41 for Evil Geniuses, with both players finishing plus-15. Ahmet "paz" Karahoca of Turkey guided Eternal Fire with 33 kills.

Group D action continues Saturday with three matches:

--Movistar Riders vs. Evil Geniuses

--Team Liquid vs. Eternal Fire

--Cloud9 vs. FURIA Esports

ESL Pro League Season 16 group standings

Group D

1. Cloud9, 3-0, 45, 9 points

2. FURIA Esports, 3-0, 39, 9 points

3. Team Liquid, 2-1, 12, 6 points

4. Evil Geniuses, 1-2, -13, 3 points

5. Movistar Riders, 0-3, -41, 0 points

6. Eternal Fire, 0-3, -42, 0 points

Group A

1. Team Vitality, 5-0, 40, 15 points

2. Fnatic, 3-2, 36, 9 points

3. Natus Vincere, 3-2, 6, 6 points

4. Team Spirit, 2-3, -9, 6 points

5. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 2-3, -31, 6 points

6. Endpoint, 1-4, -42, 3 points

Group B

1. G2 Esports, 5-0, 73, 15 points

2. FaZe Clan, 4-1, 39, 12 points

3. Outsiders, 3-2, 27, 9 points

4. BIG, 2-3, 3, 6 points

5. MIBR, 1-4, -62, 3 points

6. FTW Esports, 0-5, -80, 0 points

Group C

1. MOUZ, 4-1, 32, 12 points

2. Heroic, 4-1, 26, 12 points

3. Complexity, 3-2, -4, 9 points

4. Astralis, 2-3, 14, 6 points

5. ENCE, 1-4, -25, 3 points

6. HEET, 1-4, -41, 3 points

--Field Level Media