Day 2 recap - Who stays on?

We now take a look at last four groups, where there were as many surprises as in the first four. 

Like it had happened in the opening day, the second tournament day kicked off at 5.00 (CET time) but that did not keep many European fans from staying up to watch their favourite teams in action, and it certainly paid off for many of them.

Group E

This one was expected to be a two-horse race between The Elder Gods and esq.wind for the second place of the group, but it ended up being the Romanian dominating their opponents as they picked up a perfect 3-0 record. In the stage match between k23 and the South Korean team, the Kazakh side proved far too strong for their opponents, a result which allowed them to book a place in the knock-out stage. As for simpleX, they surprisingly performed much better than last year but will still return to Macedonia empty handed.

1. The Elder Gods
2. k23

Group F

This group turned out to be the most interesting of the day, with two teams in the race for the playoffs until the very last minute. mousesports knew it would be an uphill struggle to do anything in Chengdu with two stand-ins, and things looked really ugly for them at the beginning as they were defeated by Turmoil 17-13. But they immediately recovered, stomping over CMAX.gg, and it looked like they would be able to bounce back from their disappointing defeat, only to lose their final match, against Sport in the Game.

In the end, both Turmoil and CMAX.gg progress, with both sides demonstrating they are not here for just sightseeing. SnG actually proved a strong figure in the tournament, and almost defeated the American team, whereas Makeway were mere spectators here.

1. CMAX.gg
2. Turmoil

Group G

The top two places of this group were expected to be contested by AGAiN and TyLoo only and that's exactly what happened here. Both teams did not have too much trouble to overcome Nextlevel and F.azer.Z, and in the match involving the duo, it ended up being the Chinese squad the better side as they emerged 19-11 winners.

Nextlevel did not pose much of a threat to the top teams of the group, and their only points came agaisnt F.azer.Z, who lost two of their matches 30-0.

1. TyLoo
2. AGAiN

Group H

The last group was certainly not the most interesting one, as Evil Geniuses and HellRaisers were the only teams in the running for the playoffs. After an opening defeat to the Ukrainians, EG picked themselves up and went on to win their remaining encounters and secure second-placed honours as they finished behind HR, who won all of their matches.

Lords of Heaven performed as expected but they should have defeated Makeway to get six points. As for _u5_, they picked up a solitary win over the Indian team in what seems to be a recurring derby in international competitions.

1. HellRaisers
2. Evil Geniuses

The tournament will now move on to the knock-out stage, which will be played in a single-elimination, best-of-three mode. Stay tuned to HLTV.org for complete coverage of the 2009 World Cyber Games.