After a tough week for many European teams at first major tournament of the year MLG Columbus 2016, some of them returned to compete in a further evening of matches at the ESL Pro League. In last week’s roundup, we recommended that you specifically looked out for one series in particular: Team EnVyUs versus Team Dignitas. The seventh-placed Team Dignitas put up a big fight against Team EnVyUs, with the two-map series concluding 32-21 - 16-14 on de_mirage and 16-7 on de_inferno. Although the French side did struggle in America, they weren’t expected to have similar issues in an online format.
Now let’s dive into the current season standings as well as take a look at all the best moments captured in one evening of competition!
Standings
At the end of week six there were limited changes to the top of the leaderboard, with us only seeing Swedish side Ninjas in Pyjamas claim first place over Astralis, who now are positioned at third. As it stands, the teams who are set to receive an invite to the ESL Pro League Season 3 offline finals in May are Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, Astralis and G2. This week, with the few matches played, there has not been any movement at the top of the leaderboard.
As we approach the final two weeks of the third installment of the ESL Pro League, we begin to wonder which teams from the European region will be competing in London, England for the offline finals. With the way the leaderboard is currently looking, it is more than likely that at the offline finals we will be seeing Ninjas in Pyjamas in first place with 48 points and Fnatic in second place with 39 points, with them also having only played 16 matches. This leaves us with just two invitation spots remaining but an array of teams who are all in contention for them, from third-place Astralis to sixth-place Team EnVyUs.
Below you can find the complete European ESL Pro League Season 3 standings at the end of week seven.
Click to enlarge
Highlights of the week
MSL holds off his enemies
WHAT A HOLD BY @MSLcsgo! @TeamDignitas #ESLProLeague https://t.co/jo7CSYhqbL
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) April 7, 2016
In the second map of the series against Team EnVyUs, Team Dignitas’s Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen pushes his team closer to the win as he almost single-handedly holds off a B bomb site push on Inferno from Team EnVyUs.
f0rest dominates the restrooms
.@f0restcs shuts down the bathroom area! Absolute domination! #ESLProLeague @NiPGaminghttps://t.co/RN6RitJijm
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) April 7, 2016
Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg looks to get the first map against FlipSid3 Tactics over and done with and help secure his team's invite as he achieves an ace while holding the bathroom area on Overpass.
Team of the week
With only one evening of matches being played in the European region this week, it was, again, difficult to choose a specific lineup that deserved to be classed as the best team of the week. However, we have chosen Team Dignitas as they took key points away from a Team EnVyUs side fighting for one of the final spots that could be available to them.
Regardless of how the team is currently playing, coming up some of the best players in the world is always going to be a challenge. In the first map of the series, Team Dignitas just managed to pull away from their opponents as they closed out the map 16-14, but the second map was a different story as they completed the 2-0 series win 16-7.
Tune in to the penultimate week of European matches!
After two consecutive short weeks, we’re finally getting a full week of action with four out of the five top teams competing to help solidify their spot in the ESL Pro League Season 3 offline finals. Throughout the week there will be a number of key matches to look out for, particularly Natus Vincere versus Fnatic as they both feature in the potential lineup of teams who could qualify for the finals in May.
Almost two weeks ago, the ESL Pro League Season 3 finals were announced and are set to be played in both Leicester and London with teams competing for a share of US$750,000. Tickets are now available, so don’t forget to get yours here and benefit from a special discount with the code 16plus.
For continued CS:GO and the ESL Pro League updates, be sure to follow ESL CS on Twitter and Facebook!
