Sports
Monte, Legacy, B8 earn final Stage 3 berths at IEM Cologne
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Monte, Legacy and B8 snatched the final three berths for Stage 3 by winning their do-or-die Round 5 matches to complete Stage 2 of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major on Tuesday in Germany.
Monte swept paiN Gaming 2-0, Legacy did the same against TYLOO and B8 rallied to a 2-1 victory over BIG. The three losing sides were consequently eliminated.
Teams are competing for their share of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament’s $1.25 million prize pool with the grand final scheduled for June 21. The champion receives $500,000.
Eight teams were seeded directly into Stage 3: Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, Team Falcons, The MongolZ, PARIVISION, Aurora Gaming, FURIA and MOUZ. They’ll be joined by FUT Esports, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, BetBoom Team, 9z Team, Monte, Legacy and B8, all of whom advanced through Stage 2.
Using a Swiss System format, advancement and elimination matches in Stage 2 were best-of-three. All other Stage 2 matches were a single map.
On Tuesday, Monte defeated paiN 13-5 on Nuke and 13-11 on Dust II. Oscar “AZUWU” Bell of Great Britain paced Monte with 39 kills and a 1.53 match rating.
Legacy topped TYLOO 13-7 on Mirage and 13-4 on Inferno. Bruno ‘latto’ Rebelatto of Brazil was the top performer for Legacy with 33 kills and a match rating of 1.57.
BIG opened with a 13-7 defeat of B8 on Ancient, but B8 rebounded and evened the match with a 13-6 result on Overpass. The final map was Dust II, where B8 took a 13-8 victory. Ukraine’s Danylo “s1zzi” Vinnyk racked up 62 kills and a match rating of 1.49 to guide B8.
Stage 3 will begin Thursday with eight Round 1 matches:
–The MongolZ vs. B8
–PARIVISION vs. 9z Team
–Team Vitality vs. FUT Esports
–MOUZ vs. Legacy
–Team Falcons vs. G2 Esports
–FURIA vs. B8
–Natus Vincere vs. Team Spirit
–Aurora Gaming vs. Monte
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000
5-8. $45,000
9-11. $15,000
12-14. $15,000
15-16. $15,000
17-19. $10,000 — paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG
20-22. $10,000 — MIBR, M80, Astralis
23-24. $10,000 — GamerLegion, FlyQuest
25-27. $5,000 — Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid
28-30. $5,000 — THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC
31-32. $5,000 — Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brit Katie Boulter rallies past Leylah Fernandez in London
Mar 17, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Katie Boulter (GBR) serves against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP)(not pictured) on day 1 of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Great Britain’s Katie Boulter rallied after her Monday match carried over to Tuesday and knocked off No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada at the HSBC Championships in London.
Fernandez was up one set and they were level at 3-3 in the second set when the match was suspended due to darkness on Monday at the Queen’s Club. Boulter went on to win 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the Round of 32. Boulter overcame nine double faults by converting 3 of 6 break-point opportunities to 3 of 8 for Fernandez.
Sixth-seeded Iva Jovic of the United States topped Antonio Ruzic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4 in one hour, 23 minutes. Seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania got past Australia’s Maddison Inglis 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Straight-set winners included Great Britain’s Emma Radacanu, the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova, Croatia’s Donna Vekic and Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Tatjana Maria, who is defending champion. Vekic moved into the main draw in as a lucky loser to replace French Open semifinalist Marta Kostyuk (ankle).
Libema Open
Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska upset sixth-seeded Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 in one hour, 18 minutes at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
Yastremska converted 5 of 10 on break points, while Bejlek was just 1 of 6.
Belgium’s Greet Minnen recorded another upset by topping seventh-seeded Janice Tjen of Indonesia 7-6 (4), 6-1. Eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic avoided the upset, handling Mexico’s Renata Zarzua 6-1, 6-2.
Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez beat American Katie Volynets 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse defeated Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-4, 7-6 (5). A few matches were suspended on Tuesday, including fourth-seeded Emma Navarro and fellow American Caty McNally, who was leading 4-6, 6-0, 2-1.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Texas Tech title wagers surge after Brendan Sorsby injunction
Brendan Sorsby looks to throw during the Texas Tech football team’s spring game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. In an ironic twist, the injunction that opened the door for Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play next season despite previously placing bets on his own team has led to a surge of wagers backing the Red Raiders to win the national championship.
Texas Tech was being offered at +2000 by BetMGM before Monday’s ruling. Following the injunction being granted, those odds shortened to +1700 and the book reported that 35% of all money wagered on the national championship winner during that time backed the Red Raiders.
They still have only the 11th-shortest odds, but the heavy action has had an impact on the national title market.
Ohio State remains the title favorite at +600, followed by Notre Dame at +700 and Indiana and Texas both at +750. Texas Tech remains +2000 at DraftKings, where Ohio State leads the way at +650 followed by Notre Dame, Indiana and Texas at the same odds as BetMGM.
Sorsby, 22, opened at +2500 at BetMGM to win the Heisman Trophy next season. Those odds have also shortened, as he is now being offered at +2000 with 3.6% of all money wagered backing him.
The current Heisman favorites are fellow quarterbacks Arch Manning from Texas and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, who are both being offered at +750, followed by Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss at +900. No other player has shorter Heisman odds than Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at +1100.
The fallout from Monday’s ruling continues to reverberate throughout college sports, with multiple schools contemplating boycotting competing against the Red Raiders in any sport.
It stems from the temporary injunction issued on Monday in Lubbock County, Texas, by district judge Ken Curry that restores Sorsby’s eligibility. It also said the NCAA cannot prevent him from “practicing, playing or otherwise participating on Texas Tech’s football team for the 2026 season.”
That’s despite Sorsby being ruled ineligible by the NCAA after it found he had bet about $90,000 on college and pro sports in a four-year span, including on his team when he attended Indiana in 2022. His appeal to the NCAA was denied last Friday.
The NCAA immediately appealed Curry’s ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Avs’ Gabriel Landeskog wins Masterton Trophy, Messier Leadership Award
May 24, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights in game three of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award on Tuesday to become the first player in NHL history to win both awards in a career — let alone the same season.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The Professional Hockey Writers Association awards a $2,500 grant to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund in the name of the award’s recipient.
The Messier Award, introduced in 2006-07, goes to the player who “exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Landeskog, 33, missed three seasons (2022-23 through 2024-25) due to a knee injury that required multiple surgeries, including a cartilage transplant. His absence between games lasted 1,032 days before he returned to action in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 2025-26 season was his first full one since he was a 30-goal scorer for the Avs in their 2021-22 Stanley Cup campaign. Landeskog tallied 14 goals and 21 assists over 60 games during this regular season to help Colorado win the Presidents’ Trophy, then added six goals and five assists in 13 postseason games.
In a 12-season NHL career spent entirely with Colorado, Landeskog has amassed 606 points (262 goals, 344 assists) in 798 games. He became the Avalanche’s captain after his rookie season, the youngest captain in league history at that time (19 years, 286 days).
Landeskog called the Messier Leadership Award “a huge honor” in comments given to NHL.com.
“Obviously it goes without saying that no leader is going to sit here and take the honor and accept the award on his own,” he said. “It’s because of my teammates that allowed me this opportunity, and even though I’m the one wearing the ‘C’ on my chest, it’s leadership by committee.
“There are plenty of guys in that locker room with ‘A’s on their jerseys or no letters on their jerseys. Guys bring so much to the table. We all lead in different ways.”
–Field Level Media
