We’ve reached the conclusion of the ESL Pro League S20 Group Stage, after Groups C and D reached their conclusion today. It’s been an intense few weeks of action, but we finally have our complete list of teams locked in for the Playoffs in Malta. Let’s recap how Groups C and D ended!
Complexity and FURIA fight through Last Chance Brackets
Credit: ESLCS on X.
Complexity were made to work for it, but they have reached the Playoffs of ESL Pro League S20. After falling to the Last Chance Bracket in Group C early, things were looking grim for the team, especially with Astralis and MOUZ down there too. That said, they came through relatively unscathed, only dropping a single map to Astralis. This felt like a much better version of Grim and floppy than we’ve seen in a long time for Complexity, which was a big factor in their ability to qualify here.
They’ll be joined by FURIA, who made a similar run through Group D. Their Lower Bracket opponents of ATOX and RED Canids may not inspire too much faith in the Playoffs chances, but you can only beat the teams in front of you. FURIA have looked markedly better of late, and they’ll take a Playoffs berth in Malta.
ESL Pro League Holders MOUZ crash out in the Group Stage
Credit: ESLCS on X.
MOUZ‘s performance at ESL Pro League S20 is by far the most surprising of the entire event. This team are the back-to-back winners of ESL Pro League Seasons 18 and 19, and they’ve often been called “studio merchants” as a result. Here in Season 20, MOUZ haven’t even made it past the Group Stage, in an uncharacteristically poor event for the team. Not since IEM Dallas back in May have they looked so mortal.
For MOUZ, rough individual form was a big contributor to their failure in Malta. Brollan had his first poor event in a while, Jimpphat put up numbers you’d expect from an average anchor (as opposed to a world-class one), and torzsi looked more like his 2022 self when compared to his much-improved 2024 form. We can’t expect perfection, especially from such a young team, so MOUZ won’t hit the panic button just yet. Reset, and go next – there’s still plenty to play for in 2024.
More misery for Astralis and Falcons
Credit: ESLCS on X.
Dear oh dear. It’s more misery for Astralis and Falcons, both of whom have crashed and burned in the Group Stage of ESL Pro League S20. For Astralis, the dev1ce IGL experiment that began so well should be done and dusted now, especially with HooXi remaining on the market. While Astralis thrived on the CT-side during EPL S20, their T-sides were nothing short of diabolical, with individuals playing with the selfishness of an average FACEIT pug. It’s time for Astralis to mercy-kill dev1ce’s IGL era and bring in an experienced caller for future tournaments.
Over on Falcons, the situation is no better. This lineup is filled with experience and quality, yet winning a single series against anyone with real quality proves to be a problem. The ongoing NiKo rumors certainly haven’t helped anyone’s individual form. In Malta, they beat ATOX in the opener, but both Virtus.pro and RED Canids took them down with relative ease. IGL Snappi described the situation post-match as “rock-bottom,” and it’s hard to disagree.
The full list of teams qualified for the ESL Pro League S20 Playoffs is as follows:
Quarter Finals
- NAVI
- G2
- M80
- Vitality
Round of 16
- Eternal Fire
- FaZe Clan
- Heroic
- MIBR
- Spirit
- The MongolZ
- Imperial
- BIG
- Complexity
- Liquid
- Virtus.pro
- FURIA
