ESL Pro League S5:W1 Wrap Up
The much anticipated fifth season of ESL Pro League is in full swing, let’s take a look at some of the points of interest that developed over last week in the European division.
Heroic has been a team with questionable sustainability, yet brilliant upset potential. They certainly proved the latter to be true as they took down the struggling Swedes of NiP efficiently. Of course, this is also a story of a team that should in theory be performing at the top of the European division but instead are looking quite underwhelming, as nobody could’ve predicted the Ninjas to eventually finish their first week of Pro League 0–4.
FaZe would grab a seat beside the Ninjas on the struggle bus, dropping two maps to another underdog in Kinguin. Hot off of decimating their Polish superiors at WESG, Kinguin are looking to make a lasting mark on their competition — and by taking two maps from FaZe as well as a stunning overtime victory over Virtus Pro, they’ve done just that. Kinguin now sits at 3–1 and things are looking better than expected. Virtus Pro on the other hand appear to be slipping into old habits early on, and fans can only hope that more rules don’t need to be changed in order to keep Virtus Pro around once again.
It would take Na’Vi to bring out the best in Virtus Pro, as the two titan teams split maps with one another. Two huge performances from S1mple kept Na’Vi in both games, but an extraneously bad showing from GuardiaN would see Virtus Pro pull through in the second map. Na’Vi have been guilty straying in the direction of Virtus Pro in recent history with their own online league play, but so long as GuardiaN can shake the monkeys from his back one can expect Na’Vi to continue to be one of the scariest opponents Pro League can offer.
All eyes will be on mousesports moving forward as its inferior members mourn the loss of their savior NiKo, who has (thankfully) been bought out by FaZe amidst the grand European shuffle. With NiKo’s final helping hands, the team was able to amass a solid 3–1 record with wins over NiP and Astralis. The one saving grace the team may have is the reacquired AWPing talents of Oskar, which were on full display in a Dust 2 classic against NiP.
After a hard fought battle at ELeague, North will be looking to assert themselves as a consistent threat. Most recently slotting in Aizy in favour of Rubino, the now all-Danish lineup took on the reunited gentlemen of Fnatic. There were two tales to be told in this one: North wanting to prove their top-tier worth, and Fnatic giving the community a reminder of what they did in years prior. Ultimately, North’s young guns Magisk and K0nfig would lead their team to victory, though Fnatic did show some greats signs of rekindling their chemistry under Flusha’s calling.
In what might have been the most anticipated matchup of the first week, the new French superteam that G2 eSports have put together took on their rival leftovers Team Envyus. Of course every great thing needs time to be nurtured and grow; however, G2 can hardly call themselves a superteam after their performance against the boys in blue — or rather boy in blue. ScreaM near single-handedly took down G2 eSports across Cache and Cobblestone, where he posted a staggering 59 frags and maintain 100+ ADR.
It was an exciting first week of ESL Pro League in Europe to say the least. G2 have yet to see their new roster blossom, but there is still plenty of time for them to catch footing. That said, it is hardly correct to refer to them as “super” in any sense in their current state. Fnatic look like they can bring back the romance they once shared, while North has nowhere to go but up from here. FaZe and NiP both struggled uncharacteristically, while Heroic and Kinguin took advantage of opportunities to upset their opponents. And for some odd reason, Virtus Pro still think it’s cool to show a completely different face in online league play than the intimidating and respect-demanding one they bring to big tournaments.
