Three more teams bid farewell at Riyadh Masters as PSG.LGD, Tundra, and Evil Geniuses suffered defeat and elimination in Lower Bracket Round 1 of the playoffs.
The first day of the playoffs at Riyadh Masters was kind to everyone. No one was sent packing for home and all 12 remaining teams were able to live for another tournament day.
But today was a different story. Tournament lives were on the line for all three series of the day. And in the end, it was PSG.LGD, Tundra, and EG who stumbled and fell.
PSG.LGDQuest Esports continues to impress after making quick work of PSG.LGD in a 2:0 sweep. The European team snatched up Snapfire for the first game - the smack-talking granny has been the number one mid-hero of Riyadh Masters and took the first win. However when PSG.LGD tried their hand —grabbing her as first pick, Quest countered with their best hero, Primal Beast, and destroyed them.
Gaimin Gladiators
vs
Tundra Esports 2:1
Gaimin Gladiators might be in the lower brackets, but that doesn't mean they are ready for defeat. We've already slated them for the grand finals against Team Liquid (if we didn't just jinx them, that is). It's near impossible to overpower and overwhelm this five-time back-to-back 2022-23 championship team, Tundra Esports tried and failed. GG delivered not just one, but two stellar comebacks in this thrilling series.
Evil GeniusesTeam Aster has been tinkering with their roster all season long in hopes of finding the right formula for The International 2023. With Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan and Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi it seems to be working for now.
Teamfights, execution, and combinations all demonstrated that this team was on point with synergy and chemistry today.
Evil Geniuses, on the other hand, seemed to be the complete opposite and never stood a chance against Aster.
Lower Bracket Round 1 will conclude tomorrow, Thursday, July 27th.
9Pandas
vs
Team Secret 11:00 CEST
It will then be followed by the two sets of Upper Bracket Semi-Finals
Talon Esports
vs
Team Liquid 14:35 CEST
Team Spirit
vs
BetBoom Team 18:05 CEST
Riyadh Masters Playoffs July 26-30
- Double-elimination bracket
- All matches except Grand Final are Bo3
- Grand Final is Bo5
Riyadh Masters 2023 prize pool distribution:
- 1st place: $5,000,000
- 2nd place: $2,500,000
- 3rd place: $1,700,000
- 4th place: $1,200,000
- 5th-6th place: $800,000
- 7th-8th place: $500,000
- 9th-12th place: $300,000
PSG.LGD / 
Tundra Esports / 
Evil Geniuses / TBD - 13th-14th place: $200,000
OG / 
TSM - 15th-16th place: $100,000
Shopify Rebellion / 
Xtreme Gaming - 17th-18th place: $50,000
beastcoast / 
Entity - 19th-20th place: $50,000
Execration / 
Virtus.pro
