ESL Pro League: A Deep Group-A Recap

ESL Pro League has started, following a mind-blowing conclusion to the Katowice chapter. Every team in the tournament needed a reset and a fact check, and EPL is the best way to do it. A month-long affair means ESL Pro League keeps the teams in top form, motivated and excited, for a longer time, and the teams can polish their strats while they’re not playing.

EPL becomes all the more important given it’s the final tournament before the much-awaited Antwerp Major.

That said, the first week of the tournament has come to a close, with quite a few shocking results materializing for the fans.

Group A has concluded. Here’s what happened.

The G2 Disaster

Without a doubt, the first thing that’d catch anyone’s eyes is the Katowice Grand Finalists’ shocking group stage exit. Three harrowing losses, sandwiched between two insignificant wins, meant the high-flying European team’s honeymoon period was over.

It’s fun to build up the drama and write exciting lines, but the facts remain true: Aleksib did not play for the first three matches, and that was a deep reason for this shock. He had tested positive for COVID and had to sit out for a while, with AMANEK replacing him. The true shot-caller was NiKo, of course, with him having a rather dark history of IGLing in FaZe Clan.

The first match was against practically one of the weakest teams in ESL Pro League: Looking For Organization. As anyone would expect, raw individual power was more than enough for G2 to win the match. m0NESY won the MVP, with a rating of 1.42.

But their deficiencies due to the absence of Aleksib finally started to show. G2 were still very much competitive, but the difference was clear as day. NiKo, the IGL, was the bottom fragger by a mile. Though the scores of both the maps were close, 16-12 and 19-17, it was clear as day in this match that if Aleksib doesn’t return soon, there’s no hope for G2.
MOUZ’s rookie, torzsi, lit the server up with a great 1.28 display, earning him the MVP.

G2’s lack of offensive ideas really showed against fnatic. Starting Inferno on the CT side was a blessing, as the European team won it 10-5. The lead was not map-winning, but it gave a very comfortable cushion, especially after they reached 14-6. But fnatic was pushing hard to shred that cushion into pieces. A great defense from fnatic meant it was soon 15-14 in G2’s favor, and their chances looked slim. It took a quad kill from JACKZ for G2 to finalize this victory 16-14.

But the next two maps were unrelenting, as G2 had to start both on their T sides. It was a disaster waiting to occur, as fnatic rushed to a 13-2 and 12-3 CT side half win leads in the two maps. G2 could only watch as fnatic completed the reverse sweep with fair ease, and practically humiliate G2.

But there was still hope for G2. There were two matches to play for, and Aleksib had just returned. The problem was, the two matches were against the two group toppers, Entropiq and NiP. Even though Aleksib took over the calling, it was clear that the team needed more time to prep, as all the matches were played without any breaks.

The fourth, deciding match was against Entropiq. G2’s intent seemed clear in the first map. Entropiq took a 14-6 lead but the European squad fought back, that too on their T side. In double overtime, G2 had slain the CIS side, and were one map away from a win they so badly needed to survive in the group.

In the second map, Dust 2, G2 seemed to have packed the victory in their bag, as they rushed to a 14-7 lead. But this time it was Entropiq to stage the comeback. The CIS side forced the issue and took the map into overtime, where they defeated G2.
The final map, Nuke, was another mini-comeback for the CIS side. G2 took a 13-8 lead, but then completely ran out of ideas. They broke the defense only on one occasion, but the bomb got defused even then. 8-0 in the final 8 rounds, and G2 were eliminated from the tournament.

The last match was against NiP and it meant nothing. G2 had packed their bags a day prior, and NiP had topped the groups. G2 did find their stride under Aleksib, as they defeated NiP 2-0. But in a mercy match accounting for nothing, did NiP even put in any efforts?

This leaves G2 with 1.5 months to prepare for the next S-Tier tournament: the Belgian Major. There’s nothing to say that G2 won’t bounce back in a spectacular fashion and do one better than they have done in the previous two “big” tournaments, Stockholm Major and Katowice. Maybe they’ll push themselves over the line and finally win the Major. May NiKo get what he’s deserved all these years.

The NiP Dream Run Into The Quarters

NiP was the team to beat in Group A. After Aleksib’s COVID news was out, every bettor must’ve turned their attention towards NiP to top the group. And the Swedes didn’t disappoint.

Their campaign started with a commanding victory over a bruised and battered fnatic. The fnatic squad had made a lot of last-minute changes, and it showed as they lost 16-5 and 16-6 in the two maps that were played. REZ had a field day owning the fnatic members, as he posted a 1.90 rating.

The next match was against eventual runner-ups, Entropiq. The first three halves of the 2-0 victory were rather easy for the Swedes. They won the first map 16-5, thanks to a 6-0 T side second half. The first half of Overpass was an attacking masterclass, as NiP tore through a paper-thin Entropiq defense 12-3. The match was done at that point, no matter how hard Entropiq would fight back.

The third victory against MOUZ confirmed their Playoffs spot, but NiP was aiming bigger. They wanted that rank one in the group, the quarterfinal seat.

NiP did not stutter once in their CT gun rounds on Inferno, and won the half 9-6. Winning the pistol and converting the next two meant it was game over for MOUZ, as NiP won the map 16-10.

NBK- turned back the clocks in a pure masterclass on Vertigo, which gave MOUZ a much-needed lifeline. They won the map in overtime against a resilient NiP who made matters no easier, but eventually NBK- and torszi got the job done. MOUZ continued this momentum into Mirage, as they rushed to a 7-1 lead. But hampus and REZ put in heroic 1.5+ rating performances to turn the tide into the Swedes’ favour, and went on to close the map with relative ease thereafter.

The penultimate match that would finalize their top rank was against L4O. It was obvious how the match would turn out. NiP did win, but not without a shockingly strong fight. The first map started with NiP taking a 12-3 CT side lead on Nuke. They had hiccups on their T side, but closed it 16-7 regardless. The second map was a much stronger affair, though. The poor attacking side of NiP carried over to Overpass, where they fell to a 9-6 deficit. L4O lost their lead, though, as they couldn’t find a way through the Swedish defense. Until they could. 12-9 down, the Australian squad put in all they had and won round after round, upsetting NiP who must’ve hoped for a clean victory. Despite winning both pistols and converting all four rounds, NiP had lost to L4O. The third map was more back-to-the-senses types. Despite being a CT-sided map, L4O could only muster 4 rounds in their CT half on Ancient. That meant elimination for the Australians and first place for NiP.

The last match didn’t even matter, as the loss to G2 did nothing to shake the Quarterfinal place NiP had earned.

The Entropiq Saga

The Russian squad was allowed to play in the tournament because the organization is predominantly from the Czech Republic.

Entropiq had a dream run, as they won 4 matches in the groups, defeated only by NiP.

The win against G2 was sweet and spectacular, as they pulled out a miraculous comeback in every aspect: 1-0 down to 2-1 win, and mini-comebacks in both the winning maps.

The wins against the other three weren’t easy but were straightforward. 2-0 wins against all three of MOUZ, fnatic, and L4O all but secured their place in the Playoffs.

The key match was against G2, and that makes the comeback win all the sweeter. Had they lost against G2, they would still have qualified had they defeated fnatic. But the earlier, the better. For the players, at least. The fans surely need the drama and the hype.

Entropiq is very team-based. In the four matches they won, everyone except the IGL won the MVP. Krad, El1an, Lack1, and Forester, all shone as their time came. It was a great showing from the CIS side, and they’ve secured a Round of 12 place in the Playoffs.

MOUZ and fnatic’s Final-Place Brawl

As you may have realised, the whole group was practically decided by Day 4. Day 5 was mere courtesy, and there was no rhyme or reason as to how anything would’ve mattered had all Day 5 results switched.

Following that trend, the battle between MOUZ and fnatic took place on Day 4.

fnatic and MOUZ both had 6 points after Day 3. MOUZ were about to face L4O in their final match, hence winning against fnatic would practically have secured their Playoffs place, a third rank at worst. fnatic on the other hand were about to face Entropiq in the final match, making this one against MOUZ a must-win, lest they should crash out of the tournament.

MOUZ had torzsi and NBK- and seemed to be a well-balanced team. But they had just lost to NiP 2-1, and the morale of the mostly-young squad was subconsciously low. fnatic had a weakened squad, as mentioned earlier. But they were on the rise after their Day 1 defeat to NiP. Their heroic 2-1 reverse sweep humiliation of G2 meant fnatic were on Cloud 9 going into Day 4.

So who reigned supreme? Quality or form?

MOUZ won the first map 16-9, thanks to a well-balanced T and CT side. fnatic’s T side was bland, as the only three rounds they won were the pistol and the following conversions. They got no chance in the gun rounds, despite mezii’s great performance.

fnatic bounced back, though, as they started Inferno with a 6-0 lead. MOUZ fought back by putting up a fair defense, and the half ended in fnatic’s favour, 9-6. MOUZ equalised the scores by winning the pistol and converting the next two, but mezii’s heroics seemed to have no end. merzii and torszi helped MOUZ put up a rock-solid defense, and MOUZ had to settle in for a third map.

Mirage started like Inferno for fnatic, as they secured an early 7-0 lead. MOUZ fought back again, of course, but a 10-5 half was all they could produce. They won the forcebuys after losing the pistol and made it 11-7, but fnatic jumped out of that mess to win the next 5 out of 6 rounds.

fnatic had defeated MOUZ and secured a Playoffs seat, reigning supreme over great teams despite being charred by stand-in issues.

A story worth remembering in Düsseldorf.

That's all for #ESLProLeague Season 15 group A! Here are the final standings of the group ?

? @NIPCS
? @Entropiqteam
? @FNATIC
#4 @mousesports
#5 @G2esports
#6 @LFOcsgo

Sit tight because we have THREE MORE groups still to play starting on the 16th of March. pic.twitter.com/dT1WO7xb2m

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 13, 2022

With that, we concluded Group A, which surely treated us to quite a few shockers and surprises. Vitality, FaZe, and VP’s (playing as Outsiders) Group B will surely serve us well, too, as FURIA and ENCE will fight tooth and nail to displace these golden 3 of the group.

Buckle up, for we’re in for a great ride.