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The 19th season of the ESL Pro League (EPL) has come to a spectacular conclusion in St. Julian’s, Malta, as MOUZ triumph during an action-packed Grand Final. Keeping the fans on the edge of their seats during three electrifying rounds, MOUZ maintained their position as EPL Champions and crushed Team Vitality 3 – 0.
Having been victorious during ESL Pro League Season 18 as well, MOUZ have been showing off their remarkable skill and determination throughout the tournament to win yet another EPL trophy. By laying claim to the coveted title, the German organization will take home $170,000 out of the $750,000 total prize pool and they have secured themselves a direct invite to the Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne 2024 Group Stage.
Furthermore, the squad now adds their second win in the race to secure Intel® Grand Slam V in their attempt to become the first team victorious at three ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Masters and one EPT Championship tournament in a span of ten consecutive competitions. The team to do so will not only obtain the $1,000,000 cash prize and iconic gold bars, but also etch their name in Counter-Strike history.
EPL Season 19 saw a peak viewership of over 376,000*. Moreover, the final three days of the tournament were played out in front of an intimate live audience, with fans from 40 different countries gathering in Malta to experience the culmination of the action.
Group Stage
The 19th season of the world’s biggest Counter-Strike league took off on April 23, as the 32 competing teams were split up in four groups of eight during the Group Stage. The top four of each group would make their way into the Playoffs, with the group’s winners going directly to the Quarterfinals, the group’s runners-up making their way to the Round-of-12, and the remaining teams continuing their battle in the Round-of-16.
In the first week of the league season, the stage was set for the teams in Groups A and B as they clashed in an attempt to secure one of 16 spots in the Playoffs. In Group A, the Danish squad of Astralis and 3DMAX’ French roster went head-to-head in the upper-bracket, with the Danes eventually being the first to claim their spot in the final stage of the tournament without dropping a single map. FaZe Clan and Virtus.pro also secured their Playoffs tickets, winning the mid-bracket and lower-bracket finals respectively.
Meanwhile, the competition in Group B was heating up as well, with Team Vitality remaining unbeaten and topping their group. The MongolZ, BetBoom Team, and G2 Esports finished second to fourth, thereby also proceeding to the Playoffs.
During the second week of EPL Season 19, it was time for the teams in Groups C and D to show off their skill and prove their worth. In Group C, MOUZ had a successful run and came out on top unbeaten, with Team Liquid claiming the second place. GamerLegion also managed to advance to the Playoffs via the mid-bracket, and so did Monte via the lower-bracket.
In Group D the battle was also on with many close rounds being played out. Eventually however, Complexity was the first to prevail, with Natus Vincere, BIG, and FlyQuest completing the top four and claiming the final Playoffs spots.
Playoffs
The Playoffs took place from May 7-12 and saw the top 16 teams compete in a single elimination bracket for a spot in the Grand Final. By the end of the second day there were just eight teams remaining, including EPL Season 17 winners FaZe Clan and IEM Cologne 2023 Champions G2 Esports. Despite an impressive run from both these teams, their journeys were cut short in the Quarterfinals by Team Vitality and reigning EPL Champions MOUZ respectively.
The Semifinals saw Astralis pitted against Team Vitality, and MOUZ pitted against Complexity in the latter team’s first-ever EPL Semifinal appearance. In an impressive display of resilience when tensions were at their highest, both Team Vitality and MOUZ managed to reverse sweep their opponents to secure their well-deserved spots in the Grand Final.
Team Vitality put on an especially notable performance against Astralis in the Semifinals, winning through overtime in the second game and using their newfound momentum to secure the game 3 win.
Before Team Vitality and MOUZ continued their journey into the Grand Final for the moment of truth, however, it was the time for broadcast talents Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and Janko “YNk” Paunović to show if they, too, have what it takes during the Grand Final of the Qiddiya 1v1 tournament. Following 20 fast-paced rounds, YNk came out on top with a score of 13-7. Pitting all ESL Pro League broadcast talent against each other over the course of the three-week-long season, the Qiddiya 1v1 tournament provided fans tuning in during the live broadcast with an additional unique and exhilarating competition.
Grand Final
Reigning EPL Champions MOUZ started off the first game strong on Inferno, picking up momentum and reaching 9-3 at halftime with little resistance. Despite some good rounds in the second half, Team Vitality were unable to bring it back, and MOUZ ultimately claimed the win with a score of 13-9.
Game 2 started with an early 2-0 lead for Team Vitality, but MOUZ quickly shut that down, once again securing a 9-3 lead at halftime. Team Vitality’s resilience shone through with back-to-back clutches in rounds 14 and 15, but it was not enough to keep MOUZ from closing out the game 13-8.
At this point, MOUZ were unstoppable, and their dominance continued into game 3, dropping only two rounds in the first half, and three in the second. Despite Team Vitality’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut having his highest rated S-tier LAN performance, the French organization ultimately fell short and it was MOUZ who secured the Champions title in a triumphant finish for the second season in a row.
“Back-to-back, it feels amazing,” said Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo of MOUZ. “It means a lot. It’s been a long time since we won so it’s good to win a Tier 1 trophy again, especially with this team. It’s amazing that we won.”
With their well-deserved win, MOUZ take home the $170,000 grand prize, qualify for IEM Cologne later this year, and take one step closer to securing Intel® Grand Slam V.
Additionally, MOUZ’ Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek was awarded the EPT DHL MVP award for his exceptional performance, and said: “We came into this tournament very fired up and the form that we showed here was amazing. I can only perform well with my teammates playing so good as well, so thank you very much to them.”