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Over the past few weeks, there has been some fierce Counter-Strike. Team Vitality, Movistar Riders, Astralis, FURIA Esports, ENCE, BIG, MOUZ, Monte, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, and 9z Team await to see who will be the last four teams joining them in the Playoffs Stage of the 18th season of the ESL Pro League.
Group D begins the process of finding the last four playoff competitors as they start the fourth and final triple-elimination style bracket on Wednesday. You won’t want to miss it as some of the biggest fan-favorite teams take to the stage. You can watch all of it live on YouTube and Twitch.
Cloud9 vs. Eternal Fire
- When: Wednesday, September 20th – 1:30 PM ET
- Odds: Cloud9 (-310) vs. Eternal Flame (+230)
Cloud9 is one of the most popular Counter-Strike teams in the world, especially after their history-making Major win in Boston, becoming the first and only North American team to win a Major. They’re getting the chance to participate in the ESL Pro League Season 18 due to their currently holding the 5th overall spot in the ESL World CS:GO Rankings.
The expectations should be relatively high for this squad as they were in the Grand Finals of the 17th Season of the ESL Pro League back in March, and they’ve had some solid finishes recently, getting 5th-6th at IEM Cologne and 7th-8th at IEM Dallas.
Eternal Flame enters the ESL Pro League with plenty of momentum after qualifying via the ESL Pro League Season 18: European Conference. They had a flawless path to the Pro League, taking down both Looking4Org and Dynamo Eclot both in 2-0 victories.
They enter the tournament ranked 41st overall in the ESL World CS:GO rankings and 21st in the European rankings. This is a team with plenty to prove, and nothing would grab the attention of the entire competitive Counter-Strike world like taking down Cloud9 in their opening match.
Complexity Gaming vs. 9INE
- When: Wednesday, September 20th – 1:30 PM ET
- Odds: Complexity Gaming (+149) vs. 9INE (-190)
The other match in the afternoon window of games for the first day of Group D is between two teams with plenty of esports history that are looking to end 2023 on a positive note after having a subpar year.
Complexity Gaming enters the tournament, having had no success whatsoever at any other top-tier events, ending IEM Cologne with a 21st-24th finish. They enter the ESL Pro League Season 18, currently ranked as the 30th-best team in the ESL World Rankings, and will be looking to improve their spot with a solid result here at the Pro League.
9INE has earned their right to compete for the title of the ESL Pro League Season 18 Champion via their ranking in the ESL World CS:GO rankings, where they currently sit in the 16th spot.
They haven’t had too much success at any of the top-tier events either, ending with a 9-12th finish at IEM Rio, 15-16th at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, and 13th-16th at IEM Cologne.
They enter their opening match as slight favorites but will still have plenty to prove if they want one of the four spots up for grabs from Group D. With qualification for the ESL Pro League Season 18 Playoffs on every team’s minds, it’s a given that there is going to be some great matches this week.