Sports
Natus Vincere prevails at ESL Pro League 20 grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Natus Vincere battled Eternal Fire and came away with a 3-2 victory in the grand final of the ESL Pro League season 20 on Sunday in Saint Julian’s, Malta.
NaVi dug out of a 1-0 hole, then hung on to take down Eternal Fire and win $170,000 of the $750,000 prize pool along with 2,400 BLAST Premier points.
The Ukrainian esports organization added to a banner CS:GO season in which they also won the Esports World Cup and the Copenhagen major.
Eternal Fire opened the best-of-five match with a 13-8 win on Nuke. NaVi rallied by pulling out a pair of 13-11 victories on Anubis and Ancient.
Eternal Fire stayed alive by running away with a 13-4 win on Inferno. The fifth and final map was Dust II, where NaVi built a 10-5 lead before Eternal Fire closed within 11-10. But NaVi struck for the final two points and a 13-10 victory to claim the championship.
Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov of Ukraine led NaVi with 75 kills on a plus-15 kills-to-deaths differential. His teammate, Romania’s Mihai “iM” Ivan, added 75 kills on a plus-3 differential. For the all-Turkish Eternal Fire side, Ozgur “woxic” Eker had 81 kills on a plus-21 K-D and Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dortkardes posted 80 kills and a plus-8.
The event began on Sept. 3 with 32 teams. Sixteen advanced to the playoffs, which began this past Tuesday.
Natus Vincere defeated Eternal Fire 2-0 in the Group A upper-bracket final. As a result, Natus Vincere advanced straight to the playoff quarterfinals, and Eternal Fire had to start the playoffs in the Round of 12. All matches were best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
ESL Pro League Season 20 prize pool (money, BLAST Premier points):
1. $170,000, 2,400 points — Natus Vincere
2. $80,000, 1,800 — Eternal Fire
3-4. $45,000, 300 — MIBR, G2 Esports
5-8. $32,000, 175 — Team Vitality, M80, Team Liquid, Team Spirit
9-12. $23,500, no points — The MongolZ, HEROIC, Complexity Gaming, Imperial Esports
13-16. $17,500, no points — BIG, Virtus.pro, FaZe Clan, FURIA Esports
17-20. $12,000, no points — Sangal Esports, 3DMAX, MOUZ, RED Canids
21-28. $7,000, no points — Ninjas in Pyjamas, FlyQuest, 9z Team, Wildcard, Fnatic, Astralis, Team Falcons, ATOX Esports
29-32. $3,500, no points — Lynn Vision Gaming, KOI, Rooster, ENCE
–Field Level Media
Sports
Richard Carapaz conquers Stage 18 in Tour de France
Richard Carapaz celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday. Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz climbed into the overall top 10 at the Tour de France with his Stage 18 victory in the Alps on Thursday.
Carapaz, 33, finished the mountainous 185.2-kilometer trek from Voiron to Orcieres-Merlette in 4 hours, 26 minutes and 21 seconds. He pulled away on the last ascent of the day and covered the final 3 kilometers solo.
Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid was the runner-up for the second straight day, 45 seconds behind, and American Matteo Jorgenson placed third.
Carapaz moved into 10th place in the overall standings.
Four-time champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia still leads the competition by 4 minutes and 32 seconds over Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel. Mexico’s Isaac del Toro is third, followed by 19-year-old Frenchman Paul Seixas and Spain’s Juan Ayuso.
Stage 19 on Friday is a 127.9-kilometer route through the mountains from Gap to Alpe d’Huez. The 113th edition of the Tour de France concludes on Sunday in Paris.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Panthers OLB Nic Scourton (knee) carted off field as training camp opens
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton (11) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton left the field on a cart after suffering an apparent right knee injury on Thursday, the first day of training camp.
An MRI was scheduled for later in the afternoon to determine the extent of the injury.
Reporters described it as an emotional scene as Scourton, 21, was in tears as the cart pulled away from the field. Before the cart departed, the entire team and head coach Dave Canales had a moment with him.
Practice was halted for the day.
In just his second season, Scourton was penciled in to start on the opposite side of Jaelan Phillips, acquired as a free agent in the offseason. As a rookie, Scourton appeared in 17 games (eight starts) and tallied 47 tackles (seven for loss), five sacks and a forced fumble.
Veteran Patrick Jones II and Princely Umanmielen, in his second season, could see game time in his absence.
The Panthers selected Scourton in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dallas signs Benji Flowers, 15; reportedly reaches deal with Chelsea
Mar 15, 2025; Frisco, Texas, USA; A view of the logo and stadium during the game between FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images FC Dallas signed 15-year-old U.S. forward Benji Flowers to a first-team deal Thursday and reportedly agreed to a future transfer to Chelsea FC when he turns 18.
Dallas will receive an initial fee of about $3 million from the Premier League side and up to an additional $7 million in performance-based add-ons, according to The Athletic.
Flowers is the youngest player ever to sign a first-team deal with FC Dallas. The homegrown contract runs through 2030-31 and includes an option for 2031-32.
“Benji’s signing is another proud day for FC Dallas and our Academy,” said club president Dan Hunt. “Our commitment has always been to develop young players and provide them with a clear pathway to the professional game. Benji has embraced every step of that journey through hard work, determination and the support of his family.
“His signing is a reflection of the tremendous work being done throughout the FC Dallas Academy and reinforces what is possible for the next generation of players. We are excited to watch him continue his development with FC Dallas and North Texas SC.”
The future is bright ??
Benji Fowers has been named to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game! pic.twitter.com/xk0HuFk16q
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 24, 2026
Last month, Flowers was named to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game. The FC Dallas Academy product made his debut with North Texas SC on March 21 at 14 years, 11 months and seven days old, making him the second-youngest player in that club’s history.
“Benji is a special talent, and today is an important milestone for both him and our club,” said Andre Zanotta, FC Dallas chief soccer officer. “He has come through the FC Dallas Academy and has earned this opportunity through his work ethic, commitment and the support of his family.
“Every step of his development has come because he has embraced the process and continued to challenge himself every day. We believe he has a very bright future, but this is only the beginning of his journey as a professional. We’re excited to continue helping him develop here at FC Dallas before the next chapter of his career.”
–Field Level Media
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Richard Carapaz conquers Stage 18 in Tour de France
