Cloud9 Facing Elimination Early at the ESL Pro League

The ESL Pro League Season 18 Playoffs are right around the corner, as Group D continues to figure out who the last Playoff participants will be.

Complexity Gaming and G2 Esports have claimed two as they prepare to face off in the Upper Bracket Final, while Virtus Pro, Team Liquid, Cloud9, Eternal Flame, 9INE, and Lynn Vision will battle it out for the last two spots in playoffs.

With the start of the Lower Bracket, teams will be feeling the pressure as a third loss will eliminate teams and their hopes of being the ESL Pro League Season 18 Champions. Catch all the high-stakes Counter-Strike action live on YouTube and Twitch.

9INE vs. Lynn Vision

9INE and Lynn Vision will kick off the Lower Bracket with the winner facing the loser of the Mid Bracket Semifinal and the loser being the first team eliminated from Group D. 9INE had a decent start, losing 1-2 to Complexity Gaming but was able to make it a close match.

They’d then lose again, this time to Eternal Fire 2-0 in the Middle Bracket. Lynn Vision is entering this match off of back-to-back 0-2 matches, losing to G2 Esports in the Upper Bracket and then Team Liquid in the Middle Bracket.

Eternal Fire vs. Cloud9

The other match kicking off the Lower Bracket is between Cloud9 and Eternal Fire, which is actually a rematch from the opening round of the Group. In the first meeting, Cloud9 won pretty easily in a 2-0 sweep.

Cloud9 would then go on and lose in a 0-2 sweep in the following match against Complexity Gaming. They then went on to lose again, this time 1-2, to Team Liquid in the Middle Bracket.

After the loss to Cloud9 in the Upper Bracket, Eternal Flame would go on and find a 2-0 win over 9INE in the Middle Bracket’s opening round. They’d then have to go up against Virtus Pro, which ended in an Eternal Flame 0-2 loss, which has set up the rematch with Cloud9.

Virtus Pro vs. Team Liquid

Team Liquid and Virtus Pro are fighting for one of the two remaining playoff spots in the last match of the Middle Bracket, with the loser facing the winner of 9INE and Lynn Vision in the Lower Bracket Semifinals. This is another rematch from the opening match, which was an incredibly close 2-1 win for Virtus Pro.

Following their match, Virtus Pro would lose to G2 Esports 1-2 before beating Eternal Flame 2-0 in the Middle Bracket.

Team Liquid put together a nice run through the Middle Bracket, taking down Lynn Vision 2-0 and Cloud9 2-1.

This was an incredibly close match the first time these two met and is one of the best matches of Counter-Strike the Group Stage has produced. Fans should be in for a treat as Virtus Pro and Team Liquid clash once again.

Complexity vs. G2 Esports

Complexity Gaming and G2 Esports are feeling good heading into the weekend, having already secured their spots in the Playoffs. They now compete in the Upper Bracket Final to determine the seeding heading into the next stage of the competition.

Though the pressure isn’t the same for them as it is for the teams competing in the lower brackets, both of these teams are still going to be trying their best to win as they both want to be the top seed out of the final group.