Sports
NAVI, PARIVISION, Aurora make PGL Cluj-Napoca playoffs
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Natus Vincere, PARIVISION and Aurora Gaming joined the eight-team PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 playoff bracket with wins Wednesday in Romania.
They won their respective Round 5 matches to complete the group stage, with the single-elimination playoffs set to begin on Friday.
The $625,000 Counter-Strike 2 tournament began Saturday with 16 teams and concludes Sunday with the winning team taking home a top prize of $225,000. All matches are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
Aurora Gaming swept Astralis with a 13-7 win on Overpass and a 13-11 win on Dust II.
Natus Vincere swept G2 Esports, winning 13-7 on Dust II and 13-9 on Ancient.
PARIVISION sandwiched a 19-17 win on Dust II and a 13-10 victory on Ancient around a 13-10 loss to FUT Esports on Mirage.
Friday’s quarterfinal matches:
–Team Vitality vs. Aurora Gaming
–The MongolZ vs. FURIA
–MOUZ vs. Natus Vincere
–PARIVISION vs. Team Falcons
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 prize pool:
1. $225,000
2. $100,000
3. $68,750
4. $43,750
5-8. $25,000
9-11. $15,625 — Astralis, FUT Esports, G2 Esports
12-14: $9,375 — B8, FaZe Clan, HEROIC
15-16. $6,250 — 3DMAX, paiN Gaming
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 standings (match record and Buchholz score):
1. Team Vitality, 3-0, +3
2. Team Falcons, 3-0, -3
3. MOUZ, 3-1, +4
4. FURIA, 3-1, +1
5. The MongolZ, 3-1, -1
6. Natus Vincere, 3-2, +3
7. PARIVISION, 3-2, 0
8. Aurora Gaming, 3-2, -6
9. FUT Esports, 2-3, +5
10. G2 Esports, 2-3, 0
11. Astralis, 2-3, -4
12. B8, 1-3, +3
13. FaZe Clan, 1-3, +1
14. HEROIC, 1-3, -8
15. paiN Gaming, 0-3, +2
16. 3DMAX, 0-3, 0
–Field Level Media
Sports
Shane McClanahan helps Rays blank hapless Giants
May 1, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan (18) throws a pitch during the first inning against San Francisco Giants at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images Shane McClanahan crafted his second straight scoreless start, Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero homered, and the Tampa Bay Rays opened a six-game homestand with a 3-0 win over the struggling San Francisco Giants on Friday night at St. Petersburg, Fla.
In a season-longest six inning, the left-handed McClanahan (3-2) allowed five hits, struck out five and did not issue a walk. He pitched five scoreless against the Minnesota Twins in his previous outing,
McClanahan was aided by two double plays to end his final two innings.
Diaz slugged a solo home run in the second, but the designated hitter left the game for a pinch hitter in the seventh. Caminero added a massive solo in the fourth.
Taylor Walls was 2-for-3 with a double, run and stolen base, though the Rays were outhit 6-5 by the visitors.
Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (2-4) allowed just four hits in 6 1/3 innings, but three runs came across. He struck out five without a walk.
Luis Arraez doubled for the club’s only extra-base hit as they lost their fourth straight game and were shutout for a majors-high seventh time.
Leading off the bottom of the second and facing a 2-0 offering from Ray, Diaz belted his fifth homer to right on Ray’s four-seam fastball, taking it the other way an estimated 364 feet.
The Giants failed to muster much against McClanahan through the first time through the order, but overaggressive baserunning by Arraez trying to turn his double into a triple led to right field Jake Fraley and shortstop combining to toss out the three-time batting champ at third base.
Just as Diaz did two frames prior, Caminero opened the fourth with a 432-foot rocket to left on another four-seamer from Ray for a 2-0 lead.
After Walls doubled to lead off the sixth and stole third, Chandler Simpson lifted a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage.
Over the seventh and eighth inning, respectively, Tampa Bay relievers Ian Seymour and Cole Sulser kept the Giants off the board.
Closer Bryan Baker pitched a perfect ninth with a strikeout for his eighth save in 10 chances for the staff’s second shutout.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Misiorowski, William Contreras power Brewers past Nationals
May 1, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Jacob Misiorowski took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before leaving with a cramp, William Contreras had four hits and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the host Washington Nationals 6-1 on Friday.
Misiorowski came out of the game with a right hamstring cramp after throwing a pitch to James Wood with one out in the sixth. Aaron Ashby came on and carried the no-hit bid into the seventh before Daylen Lile’s one-out bloop double.
Contreras had four hits for the second straight game and drove in three runs. Tyler Black had two doubles for Milwaukee, which has won four of five.
Misiorowski (2-2) was dominant, striking out eight and walking two. He retired the last 12 batters he faced, the final four by strikeout. Misiorowski threw 43 pitches of 100+ mph, the third-most in a game in the pitch-tracking era (2008), according to MLB.com.
After throwing a 98.9 mph swinging strike one to Wood, Misiorowski came off the mound and looked into the dugout. Manager Pat Murphy and the team trainer came out, and Misiorowski left the game.
Three Brewers pitchers combined on a two-hitter. Ashby went 2 2/3 frames and Easton McGee pitched a hitless ninth.
Washington starter Jake Irvin (1-4) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits over five innings.
The Brewers took a quick 1-0 lead. Garrett Mitchell led off the game with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on passed ball.
In the third, David Hamilton walked and stole second. Brice Turang walked and Contreras lined a single to center, scoring Hamilton.
With one out in the fifth, Turang and Contreras singled and Jake Bauers walked. Luis Rengifo grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Turang, and Black doubled, bringing home Contreras to make it 4-0.
CJ Abrams walked in the eighth, went to third on Lile’s double and scored on a groundout by Brady House, pulling Washington within 4-1.
The Brewers loaded the bases on two singles and an error with no outs in the eighth. Andre Granillo struck out Mitchell and got Turang to pop out, but Contreras grounded a single to right, scoring two runs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pistons escape 24-point hole vs. Magic, head home for Game 7
May 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) in the second quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images Cade Cunningham scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons came back from a 24-point deficit to stun the host Orlando Magic 93-79 on Friday, forcing a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Tobias Harris racked up 22 points and Duncan Robinson had 14 points as Detroit won its second elimination game in a row. Cunningham, Harris and teammate Ausar Thompson each grabbed 10 rebounds.
The top-seeded Pistons began the fourth quarter on an 18-1 run to build an eight-point lead and ended up outscoring Orlando 55-19 in the second half. The eighth-seeded Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field during one stretch covering about 15 minutes in the second half.
Game 7 is Sunday in Detroit.
Desmond Bane and Paolo Banchero each scored 17 points for Orlando, and Tristan da Silva added 10 points. Banchero, who posted 45 points in Game 5, shot 4-for-20 from the field. The Magic ended up 9-for-36 (25%) on 3-point attempts.
Detroit also was the No. 1 seed in 2003, when the Pistons rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Magic in the first round.
The Magic were held to 12 points over the first 19 minutes of the second half Friday as Detroit pulled ahead at 74-72 on a pair of Harris free throws with more than seven minutes to play.
Cunningham’s 3-pointer and two free throws on the next possession put the Pistons up 85-75 with less than four minutes to play. Robinson’s trey was the next basket as the lead grew.
The Pistons, down 22 at halftime, stormed back into the game by scoring 16 of the first 20 points of the second half. Detroit then went more than 4 1/2 minutes without scoring as Orlando built the margin to 71-54, but the Pistons closed the third quarter with an 8-0 spurt capped by a Robinson layup.
The Magic shot 3-for-17 (17.6%) in the third quarter, when they scored only 11 points.
Orlando appeared to take control in the second quarter and built a 60-38 halftime lead, with Bane hitting his first three 3-point attempts.
The Pistons made only 6 of 25 attempts from the floor (28.6%) in the second quarter.
Detroit shot 10-for-19 (52.6%) from the field in the first quarter to lead 26-25. The Magic began the second quarter on a 13-2 run, which ended with Anthony Black’s three-point play and Bane’s inside hoop.
After a Detroit timeout, the Magic kept pouring it on to build a 17-point lead.
Orlando forward Franz Wagner missed his second game in a row because of a calf injury.
–Field Level Media
