After only a few matches taking place in week four, the European ESL Pro League returned in week five with three days of action packed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Throughout the evenings of matches, all of the six teams that would currently receive an invite to the offline finals in São Paulo, Brazil were in action - what a few days they made it.
Transitioning from week four into week five, you could come to the conclusion that FaZe Clan and mousesports were in good form as there was only one map loss between the two teams. However, when the two teams went head-to-head in week five, it was a whole different story as in the two-map series, mousesports prevailed in dominant fashion. Both maps finished with a similar results, truly showing the new capabilities of the German side; de_dust2 concluding 16-6 and de_mirage 16-3. Mouz continued their awesome display of CS:GO into their other matches, defeating Team EnVyUs 2-0 in the series. This helped the Germans put together a successful week at the office with four wins out of four.
Here’s our reaction to the German’s domination this week:
Strong showing for @mousesports as they go 2-0 over @TeamEnVyUs as they take Mirage 16-9! #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/8tY7LnBaAT
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 14, 2016
Highlights of the Week
There was a number of memorable moments throughout the three days of actions, let’s take a look at some of the best!
Patience is a deadly virtue
In their opening match against Team Dignitas on de_cobble, G2 Esports found themselves in a 6-3 deficit, but this magnificent display of patience from Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux got them back on track. The French side went on to defeat Dignitas on Cobblestone and tie the series 1-1 after a very close final few rounds on Dust2.
Patience is a deadly virtue!@G2SmithZz with the tripple spraydown from the corner!#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/cnUZKI53UR
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 13, 2016
That’s one way to close out a match
In the first match on Wednesday, September 14, Ninjas in Pyjamas came back from an Astralis lead on Dust2 that helped them take a 1-0 lead in the series. However, the Swedes didn’t do it in a fashion as simple as that. For the match to not go into overtime, NiP would have to win the final round. It was Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg who took leadership in the round as he almost single-handedly eliminates all of his opponents with quick shots and expert positioning. Unfortunately for the Swedish lineup, they were unable to capitalise on this momentum as Danish side, Astralis, tied the series with a 16-7 win on Overpass.
Crazy 4k by @F0restcs! He grabs the 16-14 win for @NiPGaming over Astralisgg! #ESLProLeague https://t.co/XIYIETD5De pic.twitter.com/soVFAMOdlf
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 14, 2016
Want to know how to break GOTV? Ask s1mple
With only a few rounds to go until the team’s switch sides, and Natus Vincere’s economy looking very weak, Alexandr “s1mple” Kostylev puts in work by taking heads off of three enemies, causing GOTV to lag with how dirty this play was. Na`Vi put in a great effort to work their way back into the match, but they just fell short on Dust2 losing 16-11. This loss tied up the series between Na`Vi and NiP as the CIS lineup won 16-8 on Overpass earlier.
A 3K so good it causes GOTV lag! @s1mpleO with his very personal bullet time Deagle headshots!#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/ZWWX5TTsER
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 15, 2016
Denied.
There’s nothing to really say about this clip, but we all felt that it should receive an honourable mention.
.@DeadFoxcsgo is never lucky as his AWP shot is blocked by a Flashbang!#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/QTIv58gTfF
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 15, 2016
Here’s what is coming up this week
In week six of the European ESL Pro League, we will have five full days of action with matches taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Be sure to check out the current standings and our league schedule to see when they are in action.
As always, stay tuned to ESL Counter-Strike on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest updates, and don’t forget to join in on the conversation using the hashtag #ESLProLeague.