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ESL Pro League Season 18's Group C Opening Round Begins

Mike McKean

Editor

Publish Date: 13/09/2023

Fact checked by: James Leeland

ESL Pro League s18

And we’re off to another stage in ESL Pro League Season 18. This time, Group C will be going through the test to see who will be the four teams pushing through to the Playoffs. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the matches planned for today!

The Stage Is Set: All Four Matchups

First Matches (14:00 UTC)

A brief look at the first matches in the Opening Round. As mentioned in the title, they’re set to start at 14:00 UTC.

Apeks vs. M80

This will be a first for everyone. We say that because Apeks and M80 have never played against each other, so this series can go either way. Of course, Apeks has the upper hand when it comes to favoritism since they’re the 14th team in the World Ranking, while M80 occupies the 53rd spot.

Natus Vincere vs. 5yclone.

When it comes to this matchup, we shouldn't have to say that NaVi is a clear favorite. Despite that, 5yclone’s best player is not far behind from s1mple when it comes to stats. Don’t believe it? See it for yourself here:

Player Name	RATING 2.0	KILLS PER ROUND	DEATHS PER ROUND	KAST	IMPACT	AVERAGE DAMAGE PER ROUND
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev	1.14	0.73	0.61	71.2%	1.12	75.7
moseyuh (5yclone)	1.21	0.75	0.63	75.4%	1.21	83.1

Also, NaVi is coming from a loss against Vitality at Gamers8 2023, which may say something about the team’s mindset coming into this series.

Last Matches (17:30 UTC)

To end the day, two more matches will be played. Here’s what the brackets have in store for us at 17:30 UTC.

FaZe vs. 9z

Here we have an interesting matchup. FaZe and 9z have played against each other once at IEM Rio 2023 – a match that did not end well for 9z given that it ended in a 16x3 in favor of FaZe.

Does that mean that FaZe will win again? Well, not necessarily. We have to keep in mind that many factors may come into play, including FaZe’s losing streak that is now on 3 losses, while 9z is coming from 3 wins. With that in mind, anything can happen here.

Imperial vs. fnatic

Imperial and fnatic, just like Apeks and M80, have never played each other during official events. That alone brings some uncertainty for the fans, but we still have a few things to go on.

Neither of the teams is having a great season, that’s a fact. First off, Imperial has played three games and won 2 of them this season. fnatic, on the other hand, is on a 5-match losing streak. Despite that, fnatic’s individual level is still a bit higher than Imperial’s. In short, it wouldn’t come as a shock to see either of the teams win this series.

The Road Ahead

Well, if you’ve followed the path of the teams in groups A and B you’ll know that this Opening Round is probably the most important match of the stage. This is because the losers are automatically sent to the Lower Bracket, which offers a much rougher path to the Playoffs.

Who will avoid ESL Pro League Season 18’s Lower Brackets today? We’re unsure, but you can come back to Strafe.com tomorrow to see the outcomes and an in-depth analysis of the games. Deal?