Sports
G2 Esports, PARIVISION, 3DMAX keep winning at IEM Krakow
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
G2 Esports, PARIVISION and 3DMAX claimed upper-bracket victories in the second round of the play-in stage on Thursday at the Intel Extreme Masters Krakow event in Poland.
The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament began with 24 teams — 16 competing in a double-elimination play-in bracket with eight already seeded straight into the group stage.
Play-in matches are best-of-three, with eight teams advancing.
The next stage will split the remaining teams into two groups of eight for double-elimination play involving best-of-three matches. The group winners earn spots in the playoff semifinals, the group runners-up head to the playoff quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams go to the playoff quarterfinals as low seeds.
The playoffs will feature a single-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches until the grand final on Feb. 8, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $400,000, and the runner-up will get $180,000.
On Thursday, PARIVISION knocked off Aurora Gaming 2-1, winning 13-5 on Mirage, dropping a decision by the same score on Anubis and capturing the match with a 13-4 victory on Dust II. The all-Russian PARIVISION was led by Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov’s 37-31 kill-death differential and 1.35 rating, and Ivan “zweih” Gogin’s 39-35 K-D and 1.20 rating.
Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dortkardes of the all-Turkish Aurora Gaming posted a 38-36 K-D and 1.09 rating.
G2 Esports edged Team Liquid 2-1 in a dramatic match, winning 13-8 on Mirage, falling 13-6 on Inferno and then triumphing on Anubis 16-14 in overtime. G2 was paced by Nemanja “huNter-” Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 54-47 K-D differential and 1.33 rating. Team Liquid’s Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak of Poland posted a 66-41 differential and 1.52 rating.
3DMAX swept BC.Game Esports 2-0, winning on Overpass 13-3 and Anubis 13-4. Lucas “Lucky” Chastang paced the all-French 3DMAX with a 37-13 K-D and 2.02 rating. BC.Game did not have a player with a positive rating.
In Round 1 of the lower bracket, Ninjas in Pyjamas got the better of Passion UA, 2-1, after dropping the opener 13-8 on Overpass. NIP rallied to win on Nuke 13-5 and Anubis 13-10. Ukraine’s Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi paced NIP with a 59-42 K-D differential and 1.34 rating, followed by teammate Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara of Poland with a 50-42 K-D and 1.29 rating.
Passion UA was led by Ukraine’s Vladyslav “Kvem” Korol with a 50-47 K-D and the United States’ Michael “Grim” Wince with a 51-49 differential. Both players had a 1.12 rating.
FUT Esports swept Legacy 2-0 in the lower bracket, winning 13-7 on Dust II and 13-10 on Ancient. Ukraine’s Dmytro “dem0n” Myroshnychenko led FUT with a 45-22 K-D differential and 1.63 rating. Romania’s Laurentiu “lauNX” Tarlea contributed a 32-20 K-D and 1.31 rating to the victory.
Also in the lower bracket, paiN Gaming won a battle with B8 2-0, capturing Dust II 16-12 and Mirage 13-10. The all-Brazilian paiN Gaming was led by Joao “snow” Vinicius with a 45-30 K-D differential and 1.35 rating, Lucas “nqz” Soares with a 44-28 differential and 1.33 rating, and Vinicius “vsm” Moreira with a 40-26 differential and 1.32 rating.
Friday’s matches:
–Upper-bracket Round 2: Astralis vs. NRG
–Lower-bracket Round 1: GamerLegion vs. HEROIC
–Lower-bracket Round 2: BC.Game Esports vs. Ninjas in Pyjams
–Lower-bracket Round 2: Team Liquid vs. FUT Esports
–Lower-bracket Round 2: Aurora Gaming vs. paiN Gaming
–Lower-bracket Round 2: TBD vs. TBD
Intel Extreme Masters Krakow prize pool
1. $400,000
2. $180,000
3. $100,000
4. $60,000
5-6. $40,000
7-8. $24,000
9-12. $16,000
13-16. $10,000
17-20. $4,500
21-24. $2,500, Passion UA, Legacy, B8
–Field Level Media
Sports
Darren Clarke posts 2 eagles, shares Chubb Classic lead with Michael Wright
Darren Clarke tees off on 1 to start the final round of The Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Sunday, March 30, 2025. Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland made two eagles over his final four holes to grab a share of the first-round lead at the Chubb Classic on Friday in Naples, Fla.
Clarke and Australian Michael Wright posted 7-under-par 65 at Tiburon Golf Club’s Black Course with two rounds to go. Tied for third one stroke behind are defending champion Justin Leonard, Scott Parel, Rob Labritz and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez.
Clarke already had a busy round when he reached the par-5 15th hole, with five birdies and two bogeys on his card. He reached the green in two on that hole, and again at the par-5 18th, sinking eagle putts both times.
“The one on 15, I hit driver, 3-iron from 237 (yards) to 12 feet and holed it for eagle,” said Clarke, 57. “Then the last one I hit driver, 3-wood. The 3-wood was from 241 or something straight into the wind. Hit it to 15 feet behind the hole. So they were both pretty good. Take those any day.”
Wright, 51, is newer to the tour and is well-positioned to go for his first win.
He sank nine birdies, including four of his last five holes, helping absorb a double bogey at the par-4 13th. He said his son Charlie carried his bag and read most of his putts for him Friday.
“This is his first Champions event and his first event ever was three weeks ago in Australia,” Michael Wright said. “He’s doing a great job. I love having him on the bag.”
Leonard posted four birdies on each nine. After a bogey at No. 17, he bounced back at No. 18 when he stuck his approach shot a few feet from the hole to set up birdie.
“I hit a lot of greens today,” Leonard said. “I think I may have only missed one or two greens. Did make a couple bogeys, but I played well on the par-5s and got off to a good start. I kind of did all the things you need to do around here.”
Leonard won by four shots here in 2025.
Two shots off the pace at 5-under 67 are Bo Van Pelt, David Toms, Germany’s Alex Cejka and South Korea’s K.J. Choi.
–Field Level Media
Sports
William Byron to use backup car in pursuit of Daytona 500 three-peat
Feb 13, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) during NASCAR Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images William Byron will need to rely on a backup car on Sunday when he tries to become the first driver to win the Daytona 500 in three consecutive years.
Byron’s preferred No. 24 Chevrolet took enough damage during qualifying Thursday to relegate him to a backup car for the Great American Race.
The bright side for Byron? He drove a backup car in 2024 when he won the first of his two Daytona titles.
“We’ve won this race with a backup car, so I’m not super worried on that aspect,” Byron said. “But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don’t get to race it.”
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is attempting to achieve a three-peat that Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin had chances at over the years before each fell short in Year 3.
Byron, 28, will start 39th in the 41-car pack.
–Field Level Media
Sports
After blowout loss, NC State knows it must 'move forward' vs. Miami
Feb 9, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade calls out instructions during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated N.C. State 118-77. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images North Carolina State, which is 5-1 after a loss this season, is hoping to rebound Saturday afternoon when it hosts Atlantic Coast Conference rival Miami in Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (18-7, 9-3 ACC) have won six of their last seven games but are coming off a 118-77 loss at No. 24 Louisville.
Head coach Will Wade said it was “hard to find silver linings” in a 41-point defeat.
“They whipped us every way possible,” Wade added. “We got torched. We got hammered.
“But we have to move forward.”
In the wake of that loss, Wade is surely focused on NC State’s defense, which ranks 14th in the ACC (74.3 points per game). The Wolfpack are also 12th in rebounding margin.
Offensively, NC State ranks third in the league (85.3 ppg), and Quadir Copeland, who averages 13.9 points, leads the ACC with assists 6.9 per game.
Darrion Williams leads NC State in scoring at 14.4 per game, and Paul McNeil and Ven-Allen Lubin are two more players to watch. They both average 13.6 points, and McNeil ranks second in the league in 3-pointers and first in percentage (43.0), while Lubin ranks first in field-goal percentage (68.0).
Meanwhile, Miami (19-5, 8-3) is coming off an impressive 75-66 home win over No. 11 North Carolina.
Miami has won two straight games and four of five. The Hurricanes lead the ACC in field-goal percentage (50.9) and rank fourth in scoring offense (83.8) and fifth in scoring defense (69.8).
The Hurricanes’ problem is that they sit 14th in 3-point shooting and 16th in 3-point defense. Additionally, Miami lacks depth, although guard Tru Washington might return Saturday after missing three games for personal reasons.
Malik Reneau (19.8 ppg) is tied for fourth in the conference in scoring, Ernest Udeh Jr. is second in rebounds (9.6) and Tre Donaldson is tied for third in assists (6.1).
First-year head coach Jai Lucas said the Hurricanes — who are 5-1 on the road — are wary of NC State, which is 10-3 at home.
“They are coming off a big loss,” Lucas said. “They’re going to be breaking fire.”
–Field Level Media
Darren Clarke posts 2 eagles, shares Chubb Classic lead with Michael Wright
William Byron to use backup car in pursuit of Daytona 500 three-peat
