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ESL Pro League Season 19 Group Stage Winners and Losers
As the dust settles in Malta for the ESL Pro League Season 19 Group Stage, we explore the aftermath following exciting storylines and setbacks for some of the heavy hitters.
With only four teams out of eight making the Playoffs, the competition was undoubtedly fierce. And while some flopped, others topped their groups, giving us our winners and losers for the event.
The tournament’s powerhouses like FaZe Clan and Team Vitality are set as our favorites to walk the distance and lift the trophy. So instead, we’ll shed more light on the dark horses.
Winners
Astralis undefeated in the Group Stage:
The Danish stars were walking on a tightrope throughout the year. However, with Nicolai “device” Reedtz taking over the IGL role, the team starting showing better form.
Astralis also brought back their previous academy player Alexander "br0" Bro from Monte, giving them a new ray of hope.
In their first event as a newly formed roster at IEM Chengdu, they excelled. Bringing a new face to the scene with tactical brilliance, only losing to FaZe Clan in the Semi-Finals.
Without a drop in performance coming into Malta, Astralis made it to the Quarter-Finals without dropping a map, taking down Eternal Fire, FaZe Clan and 3DMAX.
While FaZe Clan was the toughest nut to crack out of the three, they handled them on one of their best maps; Nuke.
Their T side was incredible with a continued yard aggression and well-structured A site execution, giving them the edge over Finn "karrigan" Andersen and his team.
Astralis are bound to reach the later stages of the event with a Playoffs bracket that is “not so frightening”. Team Liquid being at the forefront is their only hurdle to push further, but with the Danes' current performance, it’s more like skipping over a puddle.
With them finding their footing again, they deserve a spot among the winners.
The MongolZ strike international success:
The MongolZ are making great strides so far in ESL Pro League Season 19 with remarkable triumphs against The Falcons and G2 Esports; Two limping heavy hitters.
Although they lost against Vitality in the Upper Bracket finals, they secured a spot in the Round of 12, having to face either GamerLegion or Virtus Pro next.
Despite their unfortunate run at CS2’s first Major in Copenhagen, going 0-3, their next qualifiers run was a great success. The young Mongolian force managed to qualify for ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024 and the Esports World Cup.
Perhaps a testament for their capabilities in the Asian region, hoping to take a bigger leap in transitioning the success internationally.
Their series against The Falcons was a tug of war, having to end it on the decider map of Ancient.
Luckily, Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch was on his A-game the first two maps before Sodbayar "Techno4K" Munkhbold took matters into his hands with a monstrous performance of his own on the decider.
With both Virtus Pro and GamerLegion looking rather shaky, they have a strong chance of making the Quarter-Finals and facing Complexity.
3DMAX enter history after reaching Playoffs:
The French Counter-Strike is back with 3DMAX eclipsing over the scene and becoming the ninth team in history from La République to make Pro League Playoffs.
Although some might argue they were handed the qualification after the withdrawal of Cloud9 and Spirit declining an invite. But, reality is far from that.
3DMAX fought blood, sweat and tears in their opening series against SAW, reaching overtime on both maps. Especially on their map pick Inferno, where it went the distance to triple overtime.
Fnatic on the other hand, were doing Fnatic things as they didn’t stand a chance against a team who was en route to make history.
Filip "Graviti" Brankovic officially joined the team after helping the team reach Playoffs, replacing Ali "hAdji" Haïnouss who left the team in hopes of pursuing international opportunities.
Additionally, they signed Damien "wasiNk" Dufour as a coach. A player whose previous experiences consisted of French teams like Ambush and GenOne before choosing the coaching route.
3DMAX have a big challenge ahead with either BIG or G2 Esports as their next opponent. But, with a finalized roster and high spirits, nothing is impossible.
Complexity puts NA back on the map:
The best North American team shook the Playoffs bracket after defeating NAVI in the upper final. A win that is set to electrify the final stages of ESL Pro League Season 19 with the Major winners, FaZe Clan and Team Vitality going neck to neck for a spot in the Semi-Finals.
The team already achieved better results than the previous season of Pro League. And have strong odds of making it further, considering their Playoffs bracket.
With Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski finding great form in this event, and Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli getting a fresh haircut, they can defy all odds and make North America proud again.
The big setback for the team so far has been Ricky "floppy" Kemery with a sloppy showing and mediocre impact.
Nevertheless, beating the Major winners and Heroic convincingly should be counted. And for that, they’re certainly among the winners.
Losers
Brazil fails… yet again!
Three Brazilian teams entered the event and none of them managed to hold their ground.
It’s definitely an unfortunate turn of events for a region that was on top of the world.
With the CEO of FURIA André Akkari’s distinctive statements on the Brazilian scene, it’s evident that a change might be happening.
His words caused quite the stir as he said: “Brazilian organizations, with Brazilian staff, Brazilian players, everything 100 percent Brazilian, will never win anything again. That is my opinion”.
Despite the disagreement from most of the regions’ legends, it makes sense since teams have nothing to show for on the international stage.
FURIA was the closest to qualifying, before Monte snatched it away winning 2-1 in the Lower Bracket final.
Despite taking the spot away from paiN, Sharks were more like sardines, only managing to win a map out of three BO3s.
Imperial shared the same fate and scenario as Sharks, despite boasting some great individual talent.
There are definitely enough good players in Brazil to form an all-star team, but who will get them all under their banner?
The Falcons? More like the Penguins
The Falcons had their wings clipped in Malta as they continued to struggle in spite of spending a lot of money to build the roster and management around it.
Maybe money isn’t enough to get you everything. But, according to their performance coach Lars Robl “they only need more time”. Which has been the narrative since acquiring the ENCE core roster.
Out of four BO3s, they barely managed to win against TYLOO. Considering their line-up, that's completely unacceptable.
Following the Major failure, they didn't qualify to the Esports World Cup nor Playoffs. And despite having a bootcamp prior this event, it seems as if their problems are bigger than hitting headshots inside the server.
Not so EZ4ENCE
Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and his team saw a glimpse of success at IEM Katowice. But after that, it has been nothing but a trainwreck.
Underwhelming results in Copenhagen, followed by a disastrous show in Malta can only mean that something isn’t right.
Although, we can all agree that “gla1ve” is one of the greats, handling a Polish roster at this stage might be a lot to ask for.
ENCE were knocked down by GamerLegion twice in the same fashion - without any improvements. This is despite playing on the same map picks.
Ironically, they gave Brazil their only win in this event when they lost to FURIA in the Lower Bracket final.
All in all, what makes this esport great is both the winners and losers. While the winners strive to reach greatness, the losers work harder to improve and create storylines that will forever be told.
That said, the Playoffs will be a nail-biter. So, hold on tight to your seat because it will keep you on the edge.
Credit: ESL
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