Team Wild Fire are the new German champions after overcoming mousesports in the Grand Final of ESL Pro Series Spring Season. Team effort combined with the individual skill of the Oberlein brothers, Manuel “mnL” and Benjamin “qk-mantis”, spelled victory for the newcomers.  They took down the reigning champions time and time again, winning the Grand Final 2-0.

One clear deal and one tough series

In the semi finals everything went as expected with mousesports taking down EnRo GRIFFINS in a quick 2-0. The second map, de_inferno, saw a more level playing field as EnRo fought hard to stay in the competition. Sadly for them the map finished 12-16 with the next map (de_dust2) showcasing Chris “chrisJ” De Jong's prowess with his weapon of choice: the AWP. Final score was 16-7 with mouz looking unstoppable despite Fatih “gob b” Dayik putting up a good fight.

The second semi final was a hell of a series as both ALTERNATE and Wild Fire held nothing back in their fight for the title. Hugs between Azmican “asmo” Berberoglu and qk-mantis (who spent years playing for n!faculty together) was the last act of friendship between the two teams. ALTERNATE was able to pick up a win on de_dust2 quite easily (winning 16-7) but both de_mirage and de_inferno were picked up by team Wild Fire. Whilst the series was won by Wild Fire, it was not done as decisively as ALTERNATE's map one victory: with final scores of 16-13 and 16-14, the breathtaking series could have gone either way. 

The Oberlein brothers prevent gob b's fairy tale title

The finals meant it was time to see what Wild Fire could do against mousesports. The odds were against Wild Fire, who were sure to be struggling after an exhausting matchup against ALTERNATE throughout which mousesports were able to sit back and relax. 

The first map (de_dust2) was an epic battle with both teams taking the lead at some point throughout the matchup. However, the other team always evened the scoreline which lead to the first overtime of the tournament: Wild Fire took the lead 1-0 after a long standoff with the score at 21-19. The second map (de_inferno) had mousesports (Counter Terrorists) start out with a solid defense, which had Wild Fire working hard to collect rounds. With the score at 9-6 for mouz, Wild Fire took over as Counter Terrorists, winning them the match. The second half held only one T round for chrisJ and his team, which worked in Wild Fire's favour as they earned themselves their first ever ESL Pro Series title.
  

Coming back from the Copenhagen Games, in which Wild Fire placed behind powerhouses ALTERNATE and mousesports, the newcomers showed the world that was not how they meant to continue. Second in the group stages and dropping out before the quarterfinals meant that others saw them as a team a few steps behind the big boys. With their victory at the EPS Finals they set things straight and showed themselves to be on par with the best German teams. 

Ahead of the upcoming season, mousesports have signed spiidi and changes to the ALTERNATE line-up are expected. Things will certainly not be easy for the new EPS champions who will undoubtedly face some tough challenges ahead. What do you think: will Team Wild Fire be able to keep up this level of play and step it up on an international scale as well?