LGD Gaming, PARIVISION and BetBoom Team forged a three-way tie at 8-3 atop the group-stage standings of BLAST Slam VII after a chaotic final day Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark.

LGD and PARIVISION earned the top two seeds in the playoffs over BetBoom based on tiebreakers. Team Falcons, which entered the final day of the stage alone at the top at 7-1, lost all three of its matches Friday to plummet into fourth.

Further down the standings, OG and Tundra Esports received the last two playoff nods via tiebreaker advantages over Xtreme Gaming, which was eliminated along with last-place GLYPH.

The $1 million event began with a 12-team group stage that ran Tuesday through Friday. Group play was a round-robin, best-of-one format. The top two teams advanced to the upper-bracket semifinals of the playoffs, while the third- and fourth-place teams will start in the upper-bracket quarters.

The fifth- and sixth-place teams proceed to Round 2 of the last-chance qualifier, while teams 7-10 in the standings will begin in Round 1 of that stage. Both rounds of the last-chance qualifier will be played Saturday.

On Friday, LGD Gaming and BetBoom Team each went 3-0 to rocket up the standings. LGD defeated Xtreme Gaming in 40 minutes on green, Tundra Esports in 55 minutes on green and Team Yandex in a whopping 112 minutes, also on green.

Santiago “TaiLung” Aguero Gustavo of Peru led LGD in that marathon final match with a 22-8-27 kills-deaths-assists ratio. His Bolivian-Argentine teammate Adrian “Wisper” Dobles added a 20-9-28 K-D-A.

BetBoom’s first win of the day was also one of Team Falcons’ three defeats. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia led BetBoom with a 17-1-15 and countryman Danil “gpk” Skutin had a 13-1-16 in the 42-minute win on red.

BetBoom went on to beat Tundra in 48 minutes on red and GLYPH in 41 minutes on green.

Falcons, meanwhile, took losses to Team Liquid and PARIVISION as well. PARIVISION joined the tie at the top by going 2-1 on the day; they opened with a 48-minute defeat to Team Spirit before coasting past Falcons in 30 minutes on green and beating Liquid in 37 minutes on green.

The tournament continues with four last-chance qualifier matches Saturday:

–Team Spirit vs. OG (Round 1)

–Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports (Round 1)

–Team Yandex vs. Spirit/OG winner (Round 2)

–Team Liquid vs. Aurora/Tundra winner (Round 2)

BLAST Slam VII final group standings

1. LGD Gaming, 8-3

2. PARIVISION, 8-3

3. BetBoom Team, 8-3

T4. Team Falcons, 7-4

T4. Team Yandex, 7-4

6. Team Liquid, 6-5

7. Aurora Gaming, 6-5

8. Team Spirit, 5-6

T9. OG, 3-8

T9. Tundra Esports, 3-8

11. Xtreme Gaming, 3-8

12. GLYPH, 2-9

BLAST Slam VII payouts (prize money, team earnings)

1. $300,000, $100,000

2. $150,000, $45,000

3. $70,000, $23,000

4. $50,000, $17,000

5-6. $40,000, $15,000

7-8. $25,000, $10,000

9-10. $15,000, $5,000

11-12. $10,000, $2,500 — Xtreme Gaming, GLYPH

–Field Level Media

The New York Giants fear wide receiver Gunner Olszewski may have torn his Achilles tendon after going down with a noncontact injury during Friday’s OTAs, according to ESPN.

The 29-year-old veteran receiver, who will reportedly undergo tests to confirm the injury, immediately grabbed at his right leg after going down and slammed his fist in apparent frustration while being carted off the field.

“That was a noncontact change in direction kind of a deal on the grass there,” coach John Harbaugh told reporters after practice. “So that was disappointing.”

Olszewski signed a one-year deal this offseason with the expectation he would continue to serve primarily as a returner but also provide depth at wide receiver. Fellow wide receivers Malik Nabers (knee) and Darius Slayton (core muscle) are still rehabbing from injuries.

Olszewski had 24 punt returns for 216 yards last season and 26 kickoff returns for 682 yards, while adding 10 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown.

A groin injury caused him to miss all of 2024.

In seven seasons with the New England Patriots (2019-21), Pittsburgh Steelers (2022-23) and Giants, Olszewski has returned 122 punts for 1,386 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 67 kickoff returns for 1,586 yards.

Olszewski also has 25 career receptions for 325 yards and two touchdowns in 81 games (five starts) as a wideout.

–Field Level Media

Laetitia Beck birdied five of her first nine holes and added three on the home stretch to set the pace at the first round of the ShopRite LPGA on Friday in Galloway, N.J.

Beck’s bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 earned her a one-shot lead over Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup. Briana Chacon, Germany’s Polly Mack and Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol were tied for third at 6-under 65 at the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel & Golf Club.

Beck, 34, has been a professional since 2014 and just last year landed her first win in the United States at an Epson Tour event. Her 63 Friday marked her career-low round.

She birdied the par-3 15th, the par-4 16th and the par-5 18th holes to finish a stellar round, where she hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts.

“It was going well today for sure,” Beck said of her putting. “I think the confidence that I had from the other day during the pro-am, making putts, reading the lines properly, helped me trusting that I could see the line even though the greens might be a little bumpy. And I’ve been working on the strokes, and I feel more comfortable than I used to before.

“… Yeah, again, I made a few 15-footers that I usually don’t make, so that’s why — it was nice to keep going and keep making birdies.”

Broch Estrup had an interesting afternoon round, making all seven of her birdies in an eight-hole stretch from Nos. 4-11. She hit just 6 of 14 fairways in regulation and she settled for par on the final seven holes, unable to tie Beck.

“It hit me on nine when I was — I had like, I don’t know, a 20-footer for eagle. Left myself like a three-footer for birdie and then I started shaking to be honest,” said Broch Estrup, who normally plays Europe. “… My biggest goal is to not get in my own way. I feel like I was definitely not striking it well today, but I just kept a smile on my face and took the good bounces.”

Chacon is a 24-year-old rookie making her eighth start of the season. She missed the cut in five of her first seven starts and has yet to finish better than T60; her 65, which featured an eagle 2 at No. 16, was easily the best round of her LPGA career.

“Second shot I had about 136 to the pin,” Chacon said of her eagle. “You know, it was blowing a little into the wind and my caddie, Heath, and I decided that we’re going to do like a little cut 9-iron, but kind of like a little chip shot. So like a three-quarter cutty 9-iron, if that makes since.

“Luckily hit the shot really good and had a nice baby fade and came down next to the pin and just scooted back into the pin, spun back in.”

Soo Bin Joo of South Korea and Celine Boutier of France are tied at 5-under 66. Boutier, the only past major winner in the top seven, previously won this tournament in 2021.

“I feel like it’s a good course. I feel very comfortable on it,” Boutier said. “I think it’s very pretty with the views. And then it gets pretty windy, so I kind of like that challenge as well. I think it can be scorable if you’re hitting good shots, so I think it’s fair that way.”

Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho struggled Friday, shooting 3-over 74. There will be a 36-hole cut after Saturday’s round.

–Field Level Media