MOUZ and Spirit reach ESL Pro League Season 23 Playoffs

MOUZ and Spirit have become the first teams to reach the ESL Pro League Season 23 Playoffs, after completing flawless 3:0 runs through the Swiss Group bracket. Meanwhile, we also saw another two teams head home, with Monte and HEROIC first out in Stage 2.

MOUZ put down The MongolZ in simple fashion

MOUZ vs. The MongolZ had the potential to be a real banger game of Counter-Strike, but it ultimately went up in a puff of smoke as MOUZ were able to quickly avoid any hiccups during the online stage of ESL Pro League Season 23 with a quick 2:0 win.

MOUZ showed from the off that they were not here to mess about. They ran rampant on The MongolZ‘s pick of Ancient, limiting them to just a single round in a swift affair. With three players (torzsi, Spinx, and xertioN) managing to achieve over 100 ADR, The MongolZ were keen to put that behind them and move on to Overpass.

To The MongolZ’s credit, they were able to make map two competitive. Two tight halves were separated by just a single round, finishing 13:11 to MOUZ. Quieter showings out of torzsi and xertioN were replaced by Jimpphat and Brollan standing up to play starring roles, ensuring that every player had their hand in the success on the day. The Overpass win came despite a server-best 1.74-rated performance from mzinho, who was let down by the team around him.

For MOUZ, their place in the Sweden Playoffs are secure. But that’s where the real questions start to ramp up. With the lack of top competition expected to be vying for the trophy this time around, ESL Pro League Season 23 feels like a must-win. It feels like only Spirit should be a real contender beyond MOUZ, and that comes with pressure of its own.

Spirit qualify ahead of disappointing G2

Spirit were always favorites to progress in their 2:0 series against G2. Even still, it’s always disappointing when the underdog can’t quite seem to bring it close enough to even force a decider.

Spirit were far from their best here, which allowed G2 to put up a respectable round haul across two maps. The series kicked off on Ancient, which was ultimately defined by a 26-kill game from donk, as is so often the case with this prodigy. With the scoreline finishing 13:9 and G2’s malbsMd struggling at 10:19, small margins could have made all the difference in this one.

Anubis will mark the bigger missed opportunity for G2, though, in that they were not up against a nuclear donk carrying Spirit across the finish line. Instead, it was sh1ro who took a starring role, but he was almost matched by SunPayus‘ AWP on the other side of the server. Again, it was malbsMd who failed to deliver, dropping a 7:18 map as Spirit took the map 13:10.

You have to feel as though this should have gone to a third map, but there was enough here to suggest that G2 will still make it to the Playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 23. As for Spirit: they are in the same boat as MOUZ, where this event is a bit of a must-win. Locking in Playoffs this early is a very good sign of things to come.

Monte and HEROIC fall first in EPL S23 Stage 2

Monte were the first team to fall in Stage 2 of ESL Pro League S23, facing off against a FaZe Clan that have struggled to beat anyone of late after five consecutive series losses. In truth, Monte probably gave FaZe too much respect in this series, losing it themselves rather than FaZe suddenly looking better overnight. It’s a shame to see this talented Monte side fall before getting to LAN, but losing to this FaZe is a bad result, however you spin it. That they lost both maps 13:11 in a 2:0 loss will just make it all the more difficult to swallow. Despite this win, it still feels as though the end for FaZe is in sight.

HEROIC were next out, after having the misfortune to face a FURIA team that had no business being in the 0:2 bracket. They can be proud that they at least managed to keep FURIA on their toes, beating them on map two to secure a full three-map series. Still, despite the brave fight, HEROIC were no match for the vastly superior FURIA, who will be slightly concerned by the recent form of molodoy. They face a continued uphill battle to stay alive at ESL Pro League.