Top 10 Plays of ESL Pro League Season 13 Week 2

10. Nawwk vs. Team Vitality – A Clutch to Top the Group

There was a lot on the line in the final match of Group B between NiP and Vitality. For the Ninjas, a win meant securing the first seed in the group and a ticket straight to the quarterfinals at minimum. As for Vitality, a loss here meant that the group favorite would be going home early. After a dominant Nuke performance for NiP, Tim “nawwk” Jonasson capped it off with this 1v3 to send the Frenchmen packing.

Nawwk ended the 2-0 victory with a 51-27 K-D and 91.7 ADR, earning match MVP. NiP will certainly be a team to watch moving into the playoffs.

9. JaCkz vs. mousesports – Saving G2 with an Ace

G2 had control of its destiny going into their last match against mousesports. A win meant it was in, and a loss meant it needed some help. After a subpar T side on Mirage, G2 took the second half pistol. Mousesports nearly stole the momentum right back before Audric “JaCkz” Jug found 5 kills on the anti-eco.

Although G2 ended up losing its match and giving mousesports its only win at ESL Pro League, NiP beating Vitality meant that G2 had secured the third seed in the group.

8. Yel vs. FURIA – Collateral Damage with a Stolen AWP

The Brazilian derby between MiBR and FURIA started as expected. With the favorites in FURIA up early on its opponent’s Overpass pick, it was up to Gustavo “yel” Knittel to bring some momentum back in his team’s favor.

Unfortunately for MiBR, the rest of the match didn’t go their way. While it had been mathematically eliminated from ESL Pro League by this point, at least this young squad got some high-level experience.

7. Dexter vs. Team Vitality – Holding Down the Long Doors

Mousesports’ quest to stay alive at Pro League culminated in a third-day matchup against Vitality. After dropping its map pick, mousesports needed a good performance on Dust2. In the final round of the first half, Christopher “dexter” Nong, aggressive positioning paid off in spades with an ace.

A 10-5 half for mousesports should have been enough to take it to a third map. Instead, Vitality rallied back to win Dust2 in regulation, dooming mousesports to an 0-3 start.

6. Sh1ro vs. Cloud9 – Sharpshooting on Overpass A

Gambit’s day two match came against Cloud9. After winning the first two rounds on their opponent’s pick, Gambit faced their first gun round. Dmitry “sh1iro” Sokolov’s upgraded AWP was enough to bring Cloud9 to their knees, finding four kills at multiple ranges.

Although C9 eventually earned a win on their map, Gambit easily cleaned up on the next two. A 16-8 and 16-7 on Vertigo and Dust2 kept the CIS squad’s undefeated streak going.

5. ZywOo vs. mousesports – Taking Control with a Deagle

In the Vitality vs. mousesports match, Dust2 started with the teams battling for economic control. Vitality won the initial pistol round, but mousesports’ defense held strong with a force buy and stole the round along with multiple AK-47’s. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut didn’t care, breaking open the A site with a Desert Eagle then finishing the job.

ZywOo earned MVP rights for the match with a 52-32 K-D and 89.0 ADR. Unfortunately for him, Vitality’s journey at Pro League was cut short not long after.

4. B1T vs. Cloud9 – Pistol Round P250 Prowess

Map one of the first match in Group C between Na’Vi and Cloud9 was neck and neck. C9 managed to take eight rounds on Overpass T side. In order to match that, Na’Vi would need to get the ball rolling early on the offense, which was exactly what Valeriy “B1T” Vakhovskiy did.

Na’Vi went on to force the map to overtime and eventually win it 19-16. Although B1T was subbed out on the next two maps, Na’Vi managed to take their opener in three.

3. Frozen vs. G2 Esports – A 1v4 to Ice the Game

By its fifth match, mousesports were already eliminated from playoff contention. Its main goal against G2 was to salvage some dignity and not go winless. After a solid showing on Vertigo defense, David “frozen” Čerňanský completely threw his opponents for a loop with his pistol round lurk.

Mousesports succeeded in upsetting G2, crushing them in just two maps. Although they didn’t have the best of luck at ESL Pro League, this roster does have some potential behind it.

2. Yuurih vs. Natus Vincere – Standing his Ground on Nuke B

FURIA had a difficult job ahead of it in its day two matchup. Against Na’Vi, the Brazilians managed to take their own map pick of Mirage after a perfect CT side. Now, they had to contend on Nuke. Down 13-8, FURIA needed to take a stand and reset Na’Vi’s economy if it wanted a chance at closing the match out in two. As the sole defender on B, Yuri “yuurih” Santos maneuvered perfectly to find every kill he needed.

With this massive momentum shift, FURIA completed the comeback and stole Nuke 16-14. The team is certainly in a prime position to advance to playoffs after getting that head-to-head win.

1. Sh1ro vs. Natus Vincere – Defying the Laws of Counter-Strike

Sometimes a play is just too mechanically insane to not give it the credit it deserves. Our top play of the week goes to Sh1ro with his AWP 3K on Dust2 A site. Down 13-15, Sh1ro needed to find some kills onto the A site push as his teammates were nowhere nearby. Three impressive shots found their mark, including the longest-range no-scope you will see in professional play.

Gambit did manage to bring Dust2 to overtime but fell short on map one. Luckily the next two maps ended in comfortable 16-11 victories for the new IEM Katowice champions. Gambit’s 4-0 record has them slated for a playoff berth; the question is if it can close out the top seed on the final day.

Those were the ten best plays of ESL Pro League Season 13 Week 2! One more week of the Group Stage still lies ahead. Group C concludes on March 24, with Group D starting up the day after. Stay tuned for more ESL Pro League Season 13 coverage.