Fragadelphia 16: Chicago reaches quarterfinals

The first day of play at Fragadelphia 16: Chicago has drawn to a close which saw a number of ESEA Advanced teams bow out after losses to mix-teams. The remaining eight squads will be battling it out today for the chance to earn a substantial $5,500 payday.

Strife - joined by rumored newcomer Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk and former Northern Forces player Reece "Wilky" Wilkerson - were able to cruise to victory in Group A, dispatching of Pre and Goofy Goober 16-8 and 16-5, respectively. Similarly, Cyberstorm went undefeated in Group C, with their 16-14 victory versus Marco "Pol0" Hernandez's Fraggin for Jason side being their closest matchup.

Over in Group D, YeniCherry, who had recruited the services of Juliana "Juli" Tosic and coach Cole "RoundCube" Taylor, failed to advance to the playoffs, notably falling to dinoco and Rapz Rebellion 16-3 and 16-7, respectively. Meanwhile, Levitate were able to secure a playoff berth after a 3-0 campaign in Group F following their 16-11 victory over fellow ESEA Advanced side Fourth Quarter.

Heading into the playoffs, Stanley "calamity" Chiu's roster under the moniker Alex Rider squared off against Davenport University. After Spencer "Pugg" Moore and company managed to steal the first map 16-9, Alex Rider soon responded with an overpowering 16-7 performance on Inferno to tie the series. Heading to the deciding map of Mirage, calamity's men would ultimately prevail 16-11 to complete the reverse sweep and send the varsity team home in 9th-16th place.

Elsewhere, ESL Challenger League side Strife were unable to keep up their winning ways as they fell to Fragadelphia 16: The Block champions InControl. A tight 16-14 victory on Vertigo gave way to two 16-12 defeats on Mirage and Nuke, respectively, to allow InControl to live up to their banner and move forward into the quarterfinals.

In what would turn out to be another defeat for yet another ESEA Advanced roster, Isolate were bested by Valors' Damian "droid" Boulware's mix team of RIP kobe in relatively convincing fashion. Despite putting up some resistance on Inferno, narrowly falling 16-13, Isolate never found their footing on Mirage and were sent packing from the event following a 16-7 runover by their opponents.

The full bracket can be viewed here.

Fragadelphia 16: Chicago continues today with the following quarterfinal matchups:

The matches are currently underway with the eventual winner of the tournament bagging $5,500 alongside 8,000 FRAG Points for their troubles.