The first week of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro League started off with a bang as roughly half of the fourteen North American teams fought for the first spots in the standings. After four days of action, Echo Fox and Cloud9 now sit at first and second place with 18 league points each. Here’s what went down in Week 1.
WEDNESDAY
The North American ESL Pro League began with two matches between Team Liquid and Cloud9, and those first two games of the season went to Cloud9 16-8 and 16-10.
They have families @C9Skadoodle! #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/rG9IJY4Tpf
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 18, 2016
Next up, Complexity Gaming and OpTic Gaming faced each other to finish off the day one. OpTic started their Season 4 journey off strong, taking their first game 16-4, and the second game 16-6.
The wildcard team was also determined on Day 1, with Echo Fox taking down Luminosity 2-0 to claim their spot in the ESL Pro League.
THURSDAY
The second day of the North American ESL Pro League was another strong showing for Cloud9, who dominated Immortals 16-4 in their first game. Game 2 was much closer, but ultimately went to C9 16-14.
There is @n0thing like a sweet 4k #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/bteuk8OYat
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 19, 2016
Echo Fox may have entered the ESL Pro League as a wildcard, but they quickly proved themselves as frontrunners, taking down Team Liquid twice, first 16-10 and then in a much closer Game 2 that ended in overtime 19-16.
SATURDAY
Echo Fox maintained their momentum in their Saturday matchup against Selfless Gaming, winning first 16-13 and then 16-14.
See @OnFireMoses, jumping shots work! 😉 #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/MKyvFnwcFA
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 20, 2016
Next, Immortals took down Complexity Gaming 16-7 who then answered back with a 16-12 win of their own.
After losing to both Cloud9 and Echo Fox, Team Liquid were able to eke out their first ESL Pro League victories of the season by taking down OpTic Gaming first 16-3 and then with a score of 22-20 in double overtime.
The night ends in double overtime as @LiquidHiko clutches up to take the win for @TeamLiquidPro! #ESLProleague pic.twitter.com/3bpdoxox1E
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 21, 2016
SUNDAY
After a rough loss to Cloud9 earlier in the week, Immortals dominated Selfless Gaming for two much-needed wins.
Echo Fox then continued their Season 4 success, winning both of their games against eUnited and securing first place in the standings after Week 1.
Congrats to @echofoxgg who move into 1st place after sweeping @eUnitedgg 2-0 tonight. #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/eWU4CVDeGs
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 22, 2016
Cloud9 are tied with Echo Fox after also earning 18 league points with six wins, but a slightly lower map win percentage puts them in second place.
COMING UP
We have three more days of action for you in Week 2 of the North American ESL Pro League with matches on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Be sure to check out the standings and tune in starting at 5PM PDT for all three days to watch Splyce, Winterfox, Renegades, and NRG Esports make their Season 4 debuts!
As always, stay tuned to the ESL Counter-Strike Twitter and Facebook for all the latest updates and don’t forget to join the conversation using #ESLProLeague.
