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Aftermath of ESL Pro League 18's Opening Rounds – Group C

Sports Writer

Publish Date: 14/09/2023

Fact checked by: James Leeland

ESL Pro League news

If you’re following the CSGO competitive scene, you’re surely aware that ESL Pro League Season 18 is underway. Yesterday we saw the first matches of Group C – the Opening Rounds – and we have some details to share with you. Ready?

Opening Round Recap

Dominant Wins

FaZe, Apeks, and Natus Vincere breezed through the Opening Rounds stage. All three were able to secure the series in the second map (2x0), meaning that M80, 9z, and 5yclone are yet to win a map here.

Tight Contest

In contrast to the other three games, the clash between Imperial and fnatic was one to remember. As we mentioned yesterday, the teams had never faced each other – at least not during official matches – so the result could go either way. Matter of fact, Imperial had been off from the serves for 45 days, and who knows what they had planned for this symbolical debut.

The game here was played in three maps (Overpass, Anubis, and Nuke), with both teams reaching the 10-round mark before the end. Here’s what the series looked like:

Overpass: 16 x 11 fnatic (Imperial’s pick)
Anubis: 16 x 13 Imperial (fnatic’s pick)
Nuke: 22 x 18 fnatic (Decider)

Anticipated Upper Semi-finals

What can we expect to see from ESL’s freshest semi-finalists? Let’s discuss that for a moment.

FaZe vs. fnatic (17:30 UTC)

Faze Team Logo This will be a great series, that’s for sure. The reasons? Well, both teams are coming from wins in the Opening Rounds, the teams have not played each other for over a year (which should wield some surprising plays), and of course, FaZe and fnatic are, respectively, #6 and #15 in the world. The perfect recipe for an exciting matchup.

Apeks vs. Natus Vincere (14:00 UTC)

Here we have another first for the involved since Apeks has never played against NaVi. In terms of recent matches, both teams look pretty similar – at least for the past 3 months. All in all, one more exciting series in the making.

Lower Bracket Battles

Redemption Fights

Now for the sad part, the Lower Bracket. As a result of the Opening Round, four teams have been kicked down to the Lower Brackets – which offers a much harder path to the Playoffs. The two matches of the Lower Round 1 are set to be played today. Here they are:

9z vs. Imperial (17:30 UTC)
M80vs. 5yclone (10:30 UTC)

Concluding Thoughts

As you may have noticed, CSGO fans will not be bored today with all of ESL Pro League Season 18’s exciting series. Want to get a full-on analysis on the Upper Semi-Finals and the Lower Round 1 matchups? Be sure to head back here to Strafe.com right after the games!