# MLG Major Championship: Columbus

MLG Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship: Columbus, also referred to as MLG Columbus 2016, was the eighth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship held by Major League Gaming (MLG) throughout March 29 to April 3, 2016, in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It was the first CS:GO Major in North America as well as the first run by Major League Gaming, who previously ran an exhibition CS:GO tournament at X Games Aspen 2015. It was also the very first CS:GO major in which ESL or DreamHack was not the organizer. It was announced on February 23, 2016, that MLG Columbus 2016 would be the first Counter-Strike tournament with a $1,000,000 prize pool.
The playoffs had eight teams. Astralis, Fnatic, Luminosity Gaming, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Virtus.pro were returning Legends. Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid were new Legends as FaZe Clan and Team EnVyUs had their Legends status taken away after failing to make the top eight. In the grand finals, Luminosity Gaming, which defeated Virtus.pro and Team Liquid, faced off against Natus Vincere, which defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis. Luminosity Gaming won 2–0 as the underdog for its first major title and fifty percent of the $1,000,000 prize pool; in addition, it became the first non-European team to win a major title.

## Format

The top eight finishers at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 ("Legends") received direct invitations to Columbus. In addition, eight other teams ("Challengers") emerged from the MLG Columbus 2016 Main Qualifier.
Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones with the exception of the final decider match, deciding the last playoff spot. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play a best-of-three elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.
The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.

### Map pool

The seven-map pool did not change from Cluj-Napoca 2015. Before each best-of-one match in the group stage, teams alternated banning maps until five maps had been banned. One of the two remaining maps was randomly selected, and the team that that did not get a third ban then selected which side it wanted to start on. In all best-of-three series, each team first banned a map, leaving a five-map pool. Each team then chose a map, with the opposing team selecting which side they wanted to start on for their opponent's map choice. The two map picks were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps.
* Maps
* Cache
* Cobblestone
* Dust II
* Inferno
* Mirage
* Overpass
* Train

## Main Qualifier
### Regional qualifiers

There were four regional qualifiers and two last chance qualifiers. The top four teams from each qualifier are shown.
The top team from the Americas, Europe, and CIS qualifiers advanced to the main qualifier and the second to fourth place teams played in their respective Last Chance Qualifiers. The top two Asian teams, which played and Intel Extreme Masters Season X Taipei, advanced to the main qualifier. One team from the Americas Last Chance and two teams from the Europe Last Chance will move on to the main qualifier. There was no Last Chance Qualifier for the Asia region.
The main regional qualifiers were played on LAN while the last chance qualifiers were played online.

#### Americas Minor

Two teams were invited while another six qualified in the North American qualifier. However, compLexity Gaming could not get a full roster in time, so the team was forced to drop out and the event ran with seven teams. The winner of the Americas Minor would earn a spot in the major qualifier while the three teams that made the bracket stage earned spots in the Americas Last Chance qualifier.
* Teams
* compLexity Gaming (Invited)
* OpTic Gaming (Invited)
* Enemy (NA Qualifier)
* EZG eSports (NA Qualifier)
* Leader-1 eSports (NA Qualifier)
* Obey Alliance (NA Qualifier)
* Splyce (NA Qualifier)
* Winterfox (NA Qualifier)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Enemy | Enemy | 2 | | | |
| Winterfox | Winterfox | 0 | | | |
| Winterfox | Winterfox | 0 | Enemy | Enemy | 2 |
| | | | Splyce | Splyce | 0 |
| OpTic Gaming | OpTic Gaming | 1 | Splyce | Splyce | 0 |
| Splyce | Splyce | 2 | | | |

#### Asia Minor

The Asia qualifier took place at Intel Extreme Masters Season X – Taipei in Taiwan. Two teams were invited and six other teams qualified from their respective regions. TyLoo was disqualified from the event just hours before the tournament was about to start as one of its players, Quanqing "qz" Wu, was found to have been banned for cheating three years prior, which induces an automatic and permanent ban from all Valve-sponsored events. Two teams would earn spots in the major qualifier.
* Teams
* CyberZen (Invited)
* Renegades (Invited)
* Chiefs eSports Club (Oceania)
* Eat You Alive (Taiwan)
* MVP Karnal (Southeast Asia)
* Risky Gaming (India+West Asia)
* The MongolZ (East Asia)
* TyLoo (China)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| CyberZen | CyberZen | 0 | | | |
| Renegades | Renegades | 2 | | | |
| Renegades | Renegades | 2 | Renegades | Renegades | 0 |
| | | | The MongolZ | The MongolZ | 2 |
| The MongolZ | The MongolZ | 2 | The MongolZ | The MongolZ | 2 |
| Chiefs eSports Club | Chiefs eSports Club | 1 | | | |

#### CIS Minor

The CIS qualifier had three teams invited, four teams from a closed qualifier, and one team from a Last Chance qualifier. One team would earn a spot in the major qualifier while the other three teams that made the bracket stage would earn spots in the CIS and Europe Last Chance qualifier.
* Teams
* Arcade eSports (Invited)
* Method (Invited)
* Rebels (Invited)
* Binary Dragons (Closed Qualifier)
* eXplosive (Closed Qualifier)
* Gambit Gaming (Closed Qualifier)
* FLuffy Gangsters (Closed Qualifier)
* Team Quest (Last Chance)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Arcade eSports | Arcade eSports | 1 | | | |
| Rebels | Rebels | 2 | | | |
| Rebels | Rebels | 2 | Rebels | Rebels | 0 |
| | | | Gambit Gaming | Gambit Gaming | 2 |
| Gambit Gaming | Gambit Gaming | 2 | Gambit Gaming | Gambit Gaming | 2 |
| Method | Method | 1 | | | |

#### Europe Minor

The European qualifier eight teams. Four qualifiers to the European qualifier were held and two teams from each qualified for a chance at the major. One team would earn a spot in the major qualifier while the other three teams that made the bracket stage would earn spots in the CIS and Europe Last Chance qualifier.
* Teams
* Cringe Gods (Qualifier #1)
* Team LDLC.com White (Qualifier #1)
* E-Frag.net Esports Club (Qualifier #2)
* PENTA Sports (Qualifier #2)
* DenDD (Qualifier #3)
* Lemondogs (Qualifier #3)
* HellRaisers (Qualifier #4)
* PixelFire Gaming (Qualifier #4)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 1 | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 1 | HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 |
| | | | E-Frag.net Esports Club | E-Frag.net Esports Club | 1 |
| E-Frag.net Esports Club | E-Frag.net Esports Club | 2 | E-Frag.net Esports Club | E-Frag.net Esports Club | 1 |
| PixelFire Gaming | PixelFire Gaming | 1 | | | |

#### Americas Last Chance Qualifier

In this Last Chance Qualifier, four teams were invited and the three runners-up from the American qualifier were invited. Only one team would earn a spot in the major qualifier.
* Teams
* Games Academy (Invited)
* NRG eSports (Invited)
* Team SoloMid (Invited)
* Torqued (Invited)
* Splyce (Americas #2)
* OpTic Gaming (Americas #3–4)
* Winterfox (Americas #3–4)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Splyce | Splyce | 0 | | | |
| Games Academy | Games Academy | 2 | | | |
| Games Academy | Games Academy | 2 | Games Academy | Games Academy | 2 |
| | | | Winterfox | Winterfox | 1 |
| OpTic Gaming | OpTic Gaming | 1 | Winterfox | Winterfox | 1 |
| Winterfox | Winterfox | 2 | | | |

#### Europe and CIS Last Chance Qualifier

Five teams were invited to the Europe and CIS Last Chance Qualifier and the three runners-up from both the Europe and CIS qualifiers were invited. Two teams would earn spots in the major qualifier.
* Teams
* ENCE eSports (Invited)
* Lounge Gaming (Invited)
* SK Gaming (Invited)
* Team Ancient (Invited)
* Team YP (Invited)
* E-Frag.net Esports Club (Europe #2)
* PENTA Sports (Europe #3–4)
* PixelFire Gaming (Europe 3–4)
* Team Empire (CIS #2)
* Arcade eSports (CIS #3–4)
* Method (CIS 3–4)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Team YP | Team YP | 2 | | | |
| Team Ancient | Team Ancient | 0 | | | |
| Team Ancient | Team Ancient | 0 | Team YP | Team YP | Q |
| | | | SK Gaming | SK Gaming | Q |
| SK Gaming | SK Gaming | 2 | SK Gaming | SK Gaming | Q |
| ENCE eSports | ENCE eSports | 0 | | | |

### Major qualifier

Like the previous majors, there will be a major qualifier and regional qualifiers. The bottom eight teams from DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 received automatic bids to the main qualifier. The other eight teams came from various qualifiers.
Teams were divided into four groups and the top two from each group made it to the major.
| DH Cluj-Napoca 2015 Bottom 8 Cloud9 mousesports G2 Esports Counter Logic Gaming Vexed Gaming FlipSid3 Tactics Team Liquid Team Dignitas | Regional Qualifiers Selfless Gaming (Americas Minor #1) Splyce (Americas Minor #2) Gambit Gaming (CIS Minor #1) Renegades (IEM Tapei #2) HellRaisers (Europe Minor #1) Tempo Storm (Americas Last Chance) Team YP (Europe Last Chance) SK Gaming (Europe Last Chance) |
* ↑ The contracts for Enemy's players expired, and the players then become known as Selfless Gaming.
* ↑ The MongolZ had initially qualified as the first seed from the Intel Extreme Masters Season X Taipei tournament, but could not attend as its players' visas were declined. CyberZen from China replaced the MongolZ but its players could not get visas in time for the tournament. Chiefs eSports Club from Australia was next in line but it was unable to put together a five-man roster in time. The organizers then decided on the Americas Minor runners-up Splyce to take the spot.
* ↑ The Games Academy roster was acquired by Tempo Storm.

### Qualifier results

Group A
| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | G2 Esports | 2 | 0 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 6 |
| 2 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 2 | 1 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 6 |
| 3 | Tempo Storm | 1 | 2 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 3 |
| 4 | Selfless Gaming | 0 | 2 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 0 |
Group A Results :
| FlipSid3 Tactics | 16 | 13 | Selfless Gaming |
| G2 Esports | 16 | 13 | Tempo Storm |
| Selfless Gaming | 4 | 16 | Tempo Storm |
| FlipSid3 Tactics | 14 | 16 | G2 Esports |
| FlipSid3 Tactics | 2 | 0 | Tempo Storm |
Group B
| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | mousesports | 2 | 0 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 6 |
| 2 | Team Liquid | 2 | 1 | 75 | 58 | +17 | 6 |
| 3 | HellRaisers | 1 | 2 | 71 | 78 | −7 | 3 |
| 4 | Team YP | 0 | 2 | 3 | 32 | −29 | 0 |
Group B Results :
| Team Liquid | 20 | 22 | HellRaisers |
| mousesports | 16 | 1 | Team YP |
| Team Liquid | 16 | 2 | Team YP |
| mousesports | 19 | 15 | HellRaisers |
| HellRaisers | 1 | 2 | Team Liquid |
Group C
| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Splyce | 2 | 0 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 6 |
| 2 | Counter Logic Gaming | 2 | 1 | 65 | 71 | −6 | 6 |
| 3 | Vexed Gaming | 1 | 2 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 3 |
| 4 | SK Gaming | 0 | 2 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 0 |
Group C Results :
| Vexed Gaming | 16 | 10 | SK Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 14 | 16 | Splyce |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 16 | 13 | SK Gaming |
| Vexed Gaming | 7 | 16 | Splyce |
| Vexed Gaming | 1 | 2 | Counter Logic Gaming |
Group D
| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Gambit Gaming | 2 | 0 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 6 |
| 2 | Cloud9 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 59 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Renegades | 1 | 2 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 3 |
| 4 | Team Dignitas | 0 | 2 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 0 |
Group D Results :
| Team Dignitas | 9 | 16 | Renegades |
| Cloud9 | 9 | 16 | Gambit Gaming |
| Cloud9 | 16 | 13 | Team Dignitas |
| Gambit Gaming | 16 | 11 | Renegades |
| Renegades | 0 | 2 | Cloud9 |

## Broadcast talent

Stage Hosts
* Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner
Desk Host
* Scott "SirScoots" Smith
Interviewer
* Chris Puckett
Analysts
* Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson
* Richard Lewis
* Jason "moses" O'Toole
* Janko "YNk" Paunović
* Duncan "Thorin" Shields
Commentators
* James Bardolph
* Anders Blume
* Henry "HenryG" Greer
* Daniel "ddk" Kapadia
* Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat
* Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett
* Björn "THREAT" Pers (Guest Commentator for Team Liquid vs Luminosity Gaming)
Observers
* Heather "sapphiRe" Garozzo
* Kevin "kVIN_S" Swift

### Broadcasts

All streams were broadcast on Twitch in various languages.
* MLG
* 99Damage
* Alien-h Casting
* BRMA TV
* CNONE
* GEC TV
* GPlayTV
* HitpointCZ
* Hungarian Esport TV
* IzakOOO
* OGamingTV
* Starladder
* striimIT
* TGPL

## Teams

| Legends Team EnVyUs Natus Vincere FaZe Clan Ninjas in Pyjamas Astralis Virtus.pro Fnatic Luminosity Gaming | Qualifiers Counter Logic Gaming mousesports Cloud9 Splyce FlipSid3 Tactics Team Liquid Gambit Gaming G2 Esports |
* ↑ The roster of G2 was bought out by FaZe Clan for US$700,000, making the roster the most expensive in CSGO history.
* ↑ The roster of Team SoloMid left the organization and temporarily played without a sponsor under then banner Team Questionmark. The players then came together and created the first player-founded organization, Astralis.
* ↑ After losing its roster to FaZe, G2 acquired the roster of Titan after Titan ceased operations.

### Pre-Major ranking

The HLTV.org March 28, 2016 ranking, the final one released before MLG Columbus 2016, is displayed below.
World Ranking :
| Place | Team | Points | Move$^†$ |
| 1 | Fnatic | 1000 | |
| 2 | Natus Vincere | 667 | |
| 3 | Astralis | 640 | |
| 4 | Luminosity Gaming | 517 | |
| 5 | Team EnVyUs | 339 | |
| 6 | Virtus.pro | 259 | |
| 8 | G2 Esports | 207 | |
| 9 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 196 | 1 |
| 10 | mousesports | 183 | 1 |
| 11 | FaZe Clan | 154 | |
| 12 | Cloud9 | 139 | 1 |
| 14 | Counter Logic Gaming | 124 | |
| 16 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 93 | 1 |
| 18 | Team Liquid | 86 | 2 |
| 22 | Gambit Gaming | 59 | 1 |
| 27 | Splyce | 45 | 1 |
$^†$Change since March 21, 2016 ranking

## Group stage

The four groups were announced through MLG's social media accounts on March 10–11, 2016. Each group was seeded to contain a team who placed 1st–4th at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015, a team who placed 5–8th at DreamHack Open Cluj–Napoca 2015, a team who went undefeated in the offline qualifiers, and a team who won one of the final decider matches in the offline qualifiers.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 | 0 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 2 |
| 2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | 1 | 68 | 83 | +5 | 2 |
| 3 | mousesports | 1 | 2 | 74 | 88 | −14 | 1 |
| 4 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 0 | 2 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 0 |
Group A matches :
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1 | 0 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Luminosity Gaming | 1 | 0 | mousesports |
| mousesports | 1 | 0 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 0 | 1 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | 1 | mousesports |
Group A scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 19 | Cache | 17 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Luminosity Gaming | 16 | Mirage | 13 | mousesports |
| mousesports | 31 | Cobblestone | 28 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 5 | Mirage | 16 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Cobblestone | 5 | mousesports |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 12 | Cache | 16 | mousesports |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Overpass | 9 | mousesports |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Team Liquid | 2 | 0 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 2 |
| 2 | Fnatic | 2 | 1 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 2 |
| 3 | FaZe Clan | 1 | 2 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 1 |
| 4 | Splyce | 0 | 2 | 8 | 32 | −24 | 0 |
Group B matches :
| FaZe Clan | 0 | 1 | Team Liquid |
| Fnatic | 1 | 0 | Splyce |
| FaZe Clan | 1 | 0 | Splyce |
| Fnatic | 0 | 1 | Team Liquid |
| Fnatic | 2 | 0 | FaZe Clan |
Group B scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| FaZe Clan | 11 | Cache | 16 | Team Liquid |
| Fnatic | 16 | Train | 5 | Splyce |
| FaZe Clan | 16 | Inferno | 5 | Splyce |
| Fnatic | 19 | Dust II | 22 | Team Liquid |
| Fnatic | 16 | Mirage | 10 | FaZe Clan |
| Fnatic | 16 | Cobblestone | 6 | FaZe Clan |
| Fnatic | – | Cache | – | FaZe Clan |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Astralis | 2 | 0 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 2 |
| 2 | Counter Logic Gaming | 2 | 1 | 70 | 61 | +9 | 2 |
| 3 | Gambit Gaming | 1 | 2 | 63 | 74 | −11 | 1 |
| 4 | Team EnVyUs | 0 | 2 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 0 |
Group C matches :
| Team EnVyUs | 0 | 1 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Astralis | 1 | 0 | Gambit Gaming |
| Team EnVyUs | 0 | 1 | Gambit Gaming |
| Astralis | 1 | 0 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 2 | 1 | Gambit Gaming |
Group C scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team EnVyUs | 8 | Cobblestone | 16 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Astralis | 16 | Train | 10 | Gambit Gaming |
| Team EnVyUs | 13 | Cache | 16 | Gambit Gaming |
| Astralis | 16 | Overpass | 9 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 13 | Cache | 16 | Gambit Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 16 | Cobblestone | 11 | Gambit Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 16 | Mirage | 10 | Gambit Gaming |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 2 | 0 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 2 |
| 2 | Virtus.pro | 2 | 1 | 61 | 49 | +12 | 2 |
| 3 | G2 Esports | 1 | 2 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 1 |
| 4 | Cloud9 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 32 | −20 | 0 |
Group D matches :
| Natus Vincere | 1 | 0 | Cloud9 |
| Virtus.pro | 1 | 0 | G2 Esports |
| G2 Esports | 1 | 0 | Cloud9 |
| Natus Vincere | 1 | 0 | Virtus.pro |
| Virtus.pro | 2 | 1 | G2 Esports |
Group D scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Train | 9 | Cloud9 |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Train | 1 | G2 Esports |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Dust II | 3 | Cloud9 |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Cobblestone | 4 | Virtus.pro |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Train | 9 | G2 Esports |
| Virtus.pro | 9 | Inferno | 16 | G2 Esports |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Cobblestone | 7 | G2 Esports |

## Playoffs

The playoffs bracket was announced on March 30, 2016. Each quarterfinals match was seeded to contain one top seed and one second seed from the group stage.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| D1 | Natus Vincere | 2 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 0 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 0 | D1 | Natus Vincere | 2 | | | |
| | | | C1 | Astralis | 0 | | | |
| C1 | Astralis | 2 | C1 | Astralis | 0 | | | |
| B2 | Fnatic | 0 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Fnatic | 0 | | | | D1 | Natus Vincere | 0 |
| | | | | | | A1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 |
| B1 | Team Liquid | 2 | | | | | | | A1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 |
| C2 | Counter Logic G. | 0 | | | | | | |
| C2 | Counter Logic G. | 0 | B1 | Team Liquid | 0 | | | |
| | | | A1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 | | | |
| A1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 | A1 | Luminosity Gaming | 2 | | | |
| D2 | Virtus.pro | 1 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Natus Vincere vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Natus Vincere vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Inferno | 9 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Mirage | 10 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Natus Vincere | – | Overpass | – | Ninjas in Pyjamas |

#### Astralis vs Fnatic

Casters: James Bardolph & ddk
Astralis vs. Fnatic Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Astralis | 16 | Overpass | 10 | Fnatic |
| Astralis | 16 | Cache | 5 | Fnatic |
| Astralis | – | Mirage | – | Fnatic |

#### Team Liquid vs Counter Logic Gaming

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG
Team Liquid vs. Counter Logic Gaming Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Cache | 13 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Mirage | 6 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Team Liquid | – | Train | – | Counter Logic Gaming |

#### Luminosity Gaming vs Virtus.pro

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Luminosity Gaming vs. Virtus.pro Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Luminosity Gaming | 17 | Cache | 19 | Virtus.pro |
| Luminosity Gaming | 16 | Cobblestone | 10 | Virtus.pro |
| Luminosity Gaming | 16 | Overpass | 11 | Virtus.pro |

### Semifinals
#### Natus Vincere vs. Astralis

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG
Natus Vincere vs. Astralis Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Inferno | 14 | Astralis |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Dust II | 5 | Astralis |
| Natus Vincere | – | Mirage | – | Astralis |

#### Team Liquid vs Luminosity Gaming

Casters: James Bardolph, ddk, & THREAT
Team Liquid vs. Luminosity Gaming Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Liquid | 15 | Mirage | 19 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Cache | 19 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Team Liquid | – | Cobblestone | – | Luminosity Gaming |

### Finals

Casters: Anders Blume, Semmler, & moses
coldzera was named the MVP of MLG Columbus 2016.
Luminosity Gaming became the first team outside of Europe to win a Major title. Fnatic from Sweden still led all teams with three Majors at the time.
Natus Vincere vs. Luminosity Gaming Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 17 | Mirage | 19 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Natus Vincere | 2 | Overpass | 16 | Luminosity Gaming |
| Natus Vincere | – | Train | – | Luminosity Gaming |

## Final standings

The $1,000,000 prize pool was divided up as follows.
| Place | Team | Prize Money | Seed | Roster | Coach |
| 1st | Luminosity Gaming | US$500,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | FalleN, fer, coldzera, fnx, TACO | zews |
| 2nd | Natus Vincere | US$150,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | Zeus, Edward, seized, flamie, GuardiaN | starix |
| 3rd–4th | Astralis | US$70,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | karrigan, dev1ce, cajunb, dupreeh, Xyp9x | zonic |
| 3rd–4th | Team Liquid | US$70,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | Hiko, nitr0, EliGE, adreN, s1mple | GBJame^s |
| 5–8th | Ninjas in Pyjamas | US$35,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | GeT_RiGhT, f0rest, friberg, Xizt, THREAT | THREAT |
| 5–8th | Fnatic | US$35,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | olofmeister, JW, KRiMZ, flusha, dennis | vuggo |
| 5–8th | Counter Logic Gaming | US$35,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | tarik, hazed, reltuC, jdm64, FugLy | pita |
| 5–8th | Virtus.Pro | US$35,000 | ESL One Cologne 2016 | NEO, TaZ, pashaBiceps, Snax, byali | kuben |
| 9–12th | mousesports | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | nex, Spiidi, denis, NiKo, chrisj | Kapio |
| 9–12th | FaZe Clan | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | fox, rain, jkaem, aizy, kioShiMa | RobbaN |
| 9–12th | Gambit Gaming | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | Dosia, hooch, AdreN, mou, wayLander | beAst |
| 9–12th | G2 Esports | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | RpK, shox, SmithZz, ScreaM, Ex6TenZ | NiaK |
| 13–16th | FlipSid3 Tactics | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | B1ad3, markeloff, bondik, Shara, WorldEdit | – |
| 13–16th | Splyce | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | arya, abE, Professor_Chaos, DAVEY, jasonR | Grt |
| 13–16th | Team EnVyUs | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | Happy, NBK, kennyS, apEX, DEVIL | Maniac |
| 13–16th | Cloud9 | US$8,750 | ESL One Cologne 2016 Offline Qualifier | n0thing, Skadoodle, fREAKAZOiD, Stewie2k, shroud | – |

### Post-Major Ranking

The HLTV.org April 5, 2016 rankings of teams in the major is displayed below. The ranking was the first one released after MLG Columbus 2016.
World Ranking :
| Place | Team | Points | Move$^†$ |
| 1 | Fnatic | 958 | |
| 2 | Luminosity Gaming | 869 | 2 |
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 827 | 1 |
| 4 | Astralis | 719 | 1 |
| 5 | Virtus.pro | 307 | 1 |
| 6 | Team EnVyUs | 280 | 1 |
| 7 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 235 | 2 |
| 8 | G2 Esports | 200 | |
| 9 | Team Liquid | 194 | 9 |
| 10 | mousesports | 192 | |
| 12 | Counter Logic Gaming | 179 | 2 |
| 13 | Cloud9 | 130 | 1 |
| 15 | FaZe Clan | 107 | 4 |
| 16 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 94 | 2 |
| 18 | Gambit Gaming | 85 | 4 |
| 28 | Splyce | 41 | 1 |
$^†$Change since March 28, 2016 ranking