iBUYPOWER Masters 2019 groups and first round matchups revealed
iBUYPOWER have revealed the group draw and first round of matchups for their Masters event, set to run from January 19-20 in Los Angeles, California. The eight-team invite-only tournament will see the debut of a number of new-look rosters, including Liquid with Jake "Stewie2K" Yip and FaZe with Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev.
Group A sees the #1 team in the world, Astralis, drawn alongside Cloud9, fnatic, and compLexity. The two North American teams will both be attending with their new rosters for the first time, with Cloud9 debuting with Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro and compLexity playing their first event with Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert and Ricardo "Rickeh" Mulholland.
Group B is headlined by Liquid as the top seed, with FaZe, Ghost, and Luminosity being drawn into their group. While this will be Liquid's first event with Stewie2K, it will also be the first time they attend an event with their new coach Eric "adreN" Hoag in tow.
The two groups for the event are:
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
 Astralis |
 Liquid |
 fnatic |
 FaZe |
| Cloud9 |
 Ghost |
 compLexity |
 Luminosity |
The opening matchups have also been drawn, and they look as follows:
| Group A | ||
| Astralis |
vs. | compLexity |
| Cloud9 |
vs. | fnatic |
| Group B | ||
| Liquid |
vs. | Luminosity |
| FaZe |
vs. | Ghost |
The tournament will utilize a best-of-one GSL system for the group stage, which will play out on Saturday, January 19th. The four teams that advance out of the group stage will then play through a single-elimination best-of-three playoffs bracket on Sunday, January 20th, with the winner taking home the lion's share of the $200,000 prize pool.
