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NaVi vs Astralis At ESL Pro League Season 17

It’s misery for the fans of Astralis and Natus Vincere as their teams have been relegated to the mid bracket of ESL Pro League Season 17. Instead of these two, it’s actually ENCE and Forze at the playoffs from group D. But before, NaVi and Astralis even think of making it to the playoffs, they have to get rid of the other. Find out how the series turned out of NaVi vs Astralis.

NaVi vs Astralis

Rosters

Natus Vincere

  • Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyljev
  • Denis ‘electroNic‘ Sharipov
  • Ilya ‘Perfecto‘ Zalutskiy
  • Valerij ‘b1t‘ Vakhovsjkyj
  • Andrij ‘npl‘ Kukharsjkyj

Astralis

  • Andreas ‘Xyp9x‘ Højsleth
  • Lukas ‘gla1ve‘ Rossander
  • Benjamin ‘blameF‘ Bremer
  • Nicolai ‘dev1ce‘ Reedtz
  • Christian ‘Buzz‘ Andersen

Map Picks & Bans

  • Astralis removed Anubis
  • Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
  • Astralis picked Ancient
  • Natus Vincere picked Overpass
  • Astralis removed Mirage
  • Natus Vincere removed Nuke
  • Inferno was left over

The Series

Map 1 (Ancient)

Ancient was the first map of the group D NaVi vs Astralis series. Astralis started off their map pick just the way they wanted. It was blameF who was taking frag after from at the start of the first half. They won the first three rounds straight but NaVi responded right after with three rounds of their own. The first half kept going back and forth like this but eventually ended up in favor of Astralis as the scoreboard read 9-6. On attack, NaVi simply bounced back. They picked up eight rounds straight without even flinching for a second- much of the credit going to electroNic and Perfecto. NaVi soon wrapped up Ancient 16-11 in their favor despite being down two rounds in the first half.

Map 2 (Overpass)

It was now time to play on the map pick of Natus Vincere. Astralis started off their opponents’ map pick their way by winning the two pistol rounds. NaVi soon responded by picking up two rounds of their own, thus leveling the score. However, what followed later was total annihilation by Astralis. Astralis then went on to win… not one, not two, not even six but eleven rounds at one go. They made NaVi look disoriented and helpless throughout the first half. NaVi didn’t even get the plant down on four different rounds in the first half. The first half ended 13-2 in favor of Astralis. There was not a lot to witness in the second half. Astralis just needed three more rounds and they picked it up within four rounds. The map scores were leveled as Astralis won the second map 16-3.

Map 3 (Inferno)

It was now time for the deciding map- Inferno. Astralis yet again started off the map their way by not only winning the pistols but following it up with two more rounds. NaVi responded but only for a while as they won two rounds. Three more rounds were picked up Astralis as they looked to widen the gap. A shift in momentum then took place as NaVi tried their level best to reduce the gap in the first half. It ended 8-7 in favor of Astralis. The second half started with NaVi putting their game faces on as they won four straight rounds. While Astralis did try their level best to put a stop to the NaVi show, it was too little, too late. Thanks to s1mple and electroNic, they brawled their way into picking up the map 16-12.

Not all hopes are lost for Astralis, however. They have now been relegated to the last chance bracket. It’s a different story for Natus Vincere, however. They will be facing Rare Atom tonight for a chance at moving into the mid bracket final. It will surely be an interesting sight to watch as the two teams clash later on tonight.

 

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Team Vitality Are Your EPL Season 16 Champions

It all began in August when 24 teams gathered at ESL Pro League Season 16. The stakes couldn’t get higher with not only $200k on the line but also direct qualification for BLAST World Final 2022 as well as IEM Katowice 2023. After weeks of relentless hard work and a determination to pick up the title, Team Vitality are the unbeaten champions of ESL Season 16.

Roster

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen

Emil “Magisk” Reif

Lotan “Spinx” Giladi

Team Vitality’s Road To Becoming Champions

Group Stage

Team Vitality started off in Group A along with the likes of Fnatic, Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, NIP and Endpoint. Fair to say that were already paired up with some tough teams but they passed the group stage with flying colors. Vitality easily picked up wins on all five of their group stage encounters conceding a map each to only Natus Vincere and Fnatic. Thanks to their top spot in Group A, they directly qualified for the quarterfinals.

Playoffs

In the quarterfinals, Vitality faced The Outsiders who beat FURIA 2-1 to make it there. The Outsiders showed some resistance by forcing the second map into overtime but Vitality seemed to be too strong. Vitality won the series 2-0 and went on to the semifinals against G2. Team Vitality absolutely bulldozed over G2 on Mirage and picked up Inferno in overtime to make it to the finals. It was now only Team Liquid in between Team Vitality and a shot at becoming champions.

The Finals

This is how the best of 5 series went down in the grand finals between Team Liquid and Team Vitality.

Map Picks & Bans
  • Liquid removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • Liquid picked Inferno
  • Vitality picked Dust2
  • Liquid picked Mirage
  • Vitality picked Overpass
  • Vertigo was left over
Map 1 (Inferno)

Inferno was the first playground selected by Team Liquid. Liquid started off their map pick just the way they envisioned it by winning the first five rounds straight. The boys from NA dominated the first map finishing the first half ahead by 10-5. The second half started in their favor as well as they won the two pistol rounds. At this point, Team Vitality could do very little to turn the match around. And so, the first map was won 16-7 by Team Liquid.

Map 2 (Dust2)

It was time for Team Vitality to respond on the classic Dust2. But Liquid picked up the pistols on Dust2 as well. But Team Vitality responded well as they won five rounds straight to overtake their opponents. Some back and forth was witnessed but the first half ended in the favor of Team Vitality. From the start of the second half, Vitality seemed to be invincible. They only lost one round to pick up the map quick winning 16-7 on Dust2.

Map 3 (Mirage)

It was Team Liquid’s second map which seemed have been Vitality’s. Team Vitality picked up both the pistols and wreaked havoc in the first half on Mirage. They won 11 out of the 15 rounds in the first half and left little room to breath for Team Liquid. Disaster struck when Team Vitality was least expecting it. Liquid recollected themselves in the second half and kept picking up rounds, including some sweet site retakes. They managed to get on level with Vitality and force the map into an overtime. In overtime, both the teams were going back and forth. Thanks to the relentlessness of the two teams, we witnessed not one, not two, neither three but six excruciating overtimes. In the end, Team Liquid won on Mirage with a staggering 25-21 scoreline.

Map 4 (Overpass)

Vitality’s pick of Overpass started off the best possible way for them. They were dominant from the get go winning the first six rounds. But Team Liquid imitated the same and leveled the scores 6-6. The first half ended barely in favor of Team Liquid at 8-7. In the second half, the map kept going back and fourth with both teams picking up consecutive rounds. With the score settling at 15-15, it was time for yet again another overtime. Team Vitality couldn’t let this overtime slip as well and they did not. The overtime ended 19-17 in favor of Vitality and we were down for the final map which was Vertigo.

Map 5 (Vertigo)

Vertigo was the final map and the decider for who gets crowned the champion. Team Vitality put their game faces on and made the best start on any map of the finals. They won 8 straight rounds without flinching even a bit. Team Liquid managed to pick up a few rounds in the first half but still it finished 10-5 in favor of Vitality. Vitality made sure to win the pistol rounds in the second half as well. Liquid showed effort to make a comeback but it was too little, too late. Vitality picked up three rounds straight and won the map 16-11. And with that, they are now the undisputable champions of ESL Pro League Season 16.

 

There’s very few that can say that Team Vitality doesn’t deserving becoming the champions of ESL Pro League Season 16. But the show’s not over yet for the Road To Rio starts soon!

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ESL Pro League Season 16 Quarterfinals Day 1

We are over and done with the Round of 12 of ESL Pro League Season 16. From 29th September, the quarterfinals are to commence. Let’s find out who made it to the ESL quarterfinals and also get some predictions rolling!

Quarterfinals Teams

  • Cloud9
  • FaZe Clan
  • MOUZ
  • Team Liquid
  • G2 Esports
  • Natus Vincere
  • Team Vitality
  • Outsiders

ESL Quarterfinals Day 1 Predictions

Cloud9 vs FaZe Clan

The OG Counter-Strike fans will never forget the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 final between C9 and FaZe. It might not be as grand this time around but is a game to watch out for nonetheless. Cloud9 is in a pretty hot form if we take out the last series against Team Liquid on the last day of Group D. They have won the rest of their four group matches. FaZe Clan didn’t start as impressively, however. They lost only to G2 in the group stage but picked up a scrappy win over Complexity in the Round of 12.

The two teams have met each other four times this season. Cloud9 picked up the last win and the first three were won by FaZe. The last meeting was in July and to be fair, FaZe’s form dipped quite a bit after that. On the other hand, Cloud9 seemed to get better as they kept playing during the group stage. With that being said, it’s really tough to pick a winner here but we’re going for a 2-1 win for Cloud9.

Interested in betting on Counter-Strike matches? Check out some of the best CSGO betting sites!

MOUZ vs Team Liquid

Team Liquid have barely made it to the playoffs at ESL Pro League Season 16. However, an impressive victory over Fnatic in the Round of 12 has given the team some much needed momentum. Topping Group C, MOUZ have definitely impressed the crowd as they look to make it through the quarterfinals of ESL.

This series could really go either way. Team Liquid looks to have recovered from their form during the group stage. Despite MOUZ having a better form in the tournament, Liquid’s experience might prove to be the victor. Our guts say that it will turn out to be a 2-1 win in favor of Team Liquid.

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Group C Leaderboard of ESL Pro League Season 16

With Valorant Champions 2022 wrapped up, our focus is now shifted to all the other major esports tournaments that are taking place around the world. No, we did not forget about CS:GO at all which is why today we’re covering ESL Pro League Season 16. Group C has now finally been wrapped up, so let’s take a look at who’s qualified for the ESL Pro League playoffs!

ESL Pro League Group C

5 days was all it took to wrap up the entire action of Group C. As expected, there was no lack of action as the group composed of both top dogs as well as underdogs.

Who qualified?

MOUZ topped the leaderboard of Group C winning 4 out of their 5 matches. Their only loss came against Astralis who even failed to qualify. Since they’re in 1st place, they have directly qualified for the quarterfinals. Heroic and Complexity are the other two teams joining MOUZ at the playoffs. However, they have only advanced to the round of 12 and not the quarterfinals yet.

Agony for Astralis

For the 4-time Major winning Danish team, this was a tournament they’d love to forget. Astralis could not replicate even an inch of the performance they had portrayed in the years of 2018 and 2019.

Astralis started the tournament off on the wrong foot losing 1-2 to Complexity on day 1 of Group C at ESL. A 2-0 clean win against table-toppers MOUZ revived hopes but quickly withered away losing 1-2 to HEET. There was some hope of qualifying as they won against ENCE the next day but a loss to Heroic sent them back home. Their loss to HEET surely cost them a spot at the playoffs which is even more sad considering that HEET finished at the very bottom.

Even worse news for Astralis is that k0nfig suffered a complicated ankle fracture, the organization announced on social media today. Coming off the bench, their reserve, Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, will be included in the main roster. MistR will be in the main squad for the upcoming RMR.

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Wrapping up Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16

Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16 is seeing some fierce action thanks to some amazing teams. The final 3 matches will be wrapping up the group tonight. Let’s see who’s facing who but more importantly, let’s see who might win.

Group A Action

Right off the bat, Group A is one of the groups to watch out for at ESL Pro League Season 16. The group consists of the likes of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Team Spirit, Team Vitality and Endpoint. According to the format of the group stage, all teams will face each other once. As of now, it’s Team Vitality that is at the top of the group with 4/4 wins. Thanks to their winning streak, they have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Natus Vincere and Fnatic are the favorites to qualify for the Round of 12. Both of the teams have picked up 2 wins out of the 4 matches played so far. Team Spirit also has the same number of wins but lags behind in terms of round difference.

Predictions

Natus Vincere vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

Natus Vincere started off Season 16 on a strong note picking up wins against Fnatic and Team Spirit. But to their demise, they lost the next two matches against last placed Endpoint and Vitality. NaVi has won 11 out of the 14 times they have faced NiP in professional tournaments including their last 3 head-to-heads. The two teams last met in Group A of IEM XVII Cologne earlier this year during July. While it is true that both of the teams are nowhere near their best forms, NaVi is a little better off in that regard. With that in mind, Natus should be picking up a win and moving onto the next stage of the tournament.

Team Vitality vs Team Spirit

Team Vitality are at the very top of Group A winning all four of their matches. And why wouldn’t they top the group? They have ZywOo and Spinx at the very top of their game. While they have already qualified for the quarter-finals, they don’t really need a win. In fact, it’s Team Spirit that badly needs a win to overtake Fnatic and NaVi. Vitality picked up a 2-1 win against Spirit the last time they faced each other back in Season 14. Both ZywOo and apEX played Vitality back then, so it shouldn’t be too hard to replicate that win. Our prediction is a win in favor of Team Vitality.

Endpoint vs Fnatic

Endpoint are currently at last place of Group A in ESL Pro League Season 16. Their only win came against Natus Vincere though, so the team has at least some hope. Endpoint has an extremely slim chance to gather something on the final day and qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, Fnatic badly needs to secure this win to confirm a spot for the next round. Good news for them is they have a much better form in terms of getting wins than Endpoint. The two teams faced each other only thrice with Fnatic picking up two wins. We think it’s pretty safe to say that Fnatic will be picking up another win tonight.

If you wanna drop in these bets, be sure to check out the most trusted CSGO betting sites.

Will Fnatic and Natus Vincere pick up the last two spots from Group A? Let’s wait and watch!

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