(Photo credit: Nick Oza/The Republic via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

There were three upsets in the first day of Stage 3 competition at the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major on Thursday in Germany.

BetBoom Team defeated The MongolZ 2-1, 9z Team did the same against PARIVISION and Team Spirit blanked Natus Vincere 2-0 among the day's eight matches.

The MongolZ, PARIVISION and Natus Vincere were among eight teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 of the competition. Spirit and 9z began in Stage 2, while BetBoom had to scrap through Stages 1 and 2 to get this far.

Now the losing sides will move into the Round 2 low matches, while the eight winners advance to the Round 2 high matches.

Sixteen teams left standing are competing for their share of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament's $1.25 million prize pool with the grand final scheduled for June 21. The champion receives $500,000.

Stage 3 utilizes a Swiss System format and all matches are best-of-three. The top eight finishers will proceed to the playoffs next week.

On Thursday, The MongolZ pulled out a 13-11 win on Dust II before BetBoom rallied with a 13-6 victory on Mirage and a 13-11 result on Ancient. Timur 'FL4MUS' Marev led the all-Russian BetBoom squad with 54 kills.

9z blasted PARIVISION 13-1 on Overpass and absorbed a 13-8 defeat on Dust II before clinching the win 13-9 on Inferno. Argentina's Luciano 'luchov' Herrera went wild for 9z, with twice as many kills (70) as deaths (35) to earn a 2.00 match rating.

Spirit trounced NaVi 13-1 on Dust II and finished things up 13-8 on Anubis. Russia' Danil 'donk' Kryshkovets had 38 kills and a 1.98 match rating to pace Spirit.

Five teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 won their openers. MOUZ swept Legacy, FURIA blanked B8 and Aurora Gaming shut out Monte, 2-0; Team Vitality rallied past FUT Esports 2-1; and Team Falcons did the same against G2 Esports.

Stage 3 continues Friday with eight matches:

Round 2 high matches

--FURIA vs. MOUZ

--Team Falcons vs. BetBoom Team

--Aurora Gaming vs. Team Spirit

--Team Vitality vs. 9z Team

Round 2 low matches

--The MongolZ vs. B8

--FUT Esports vs. G2 Esports

--PARIVISION vs. Monte

--Natus Vincere vs. Legacy

Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major prize pool

1. $500,000

2. $170,000

3-4. $80,000

5-8. $45,000

9-11. $15,000

12-14. $15,000

15-16. $15,000

17-19. $10,000 -- paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG

20-22. $10,000 -- MIBR, M80, Astralis

23-24. $10,000 -- GamerLegion, FlyQuest

25-27. $5,000 -- Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid

28-30. $5,000 -- THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC

31-32. $5,000 -- Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports

--Field Level Media