Team One Qualify for ESL Pro League Season 14

Brazilian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, Team One beat Extra Salt 3-1 in the North American ESEA Season 37: Premier Division grand finals on Sunday, June 27. With that win, the Brazilians have secured a ticket for ESL Pro League 14.

Team One’s Dominance

Team One entered ESEA Season 37: Premier Division – North America as one of the outsiders to compete for the title, but they didn’t need long to prove themselves as a serious threat. The Brazilian started their road to glory in Group A, which they finished in fourth place with a 5-3 record.

Although Team One had no real issues beating weaker sides in Mythic (2-1), Third Impact (2-0), CENSRD (2-0), and CRONEM eSports (2-0), they struggled a bit against more prominent opponents. The Brazilians lost to RGB Esports (0-2), Party Astronauts (0-2), and paiN Gaming (0-2).

Ending the group stage with a 5-3 record and a +52 round differential was good for a fourth-place finish, which earned them a direct bye into the upper bracket quarter-finals. There, they met with Group B winners, Choko Check.

Chocko Check ended the group stage with a near-perfect 7-1 record and were expected to defeat Team One. Things, however, did not go as planned for the North American side, who got swept by Team One (2-0) with 16-14 on Nuke and 16-12 on Mirage.

Team One advanced into the upper bracket semi-finals, where they got met with the current no.3 team in the region, Triumph, who beat Party Astronauts (2-1) in the previous round. Despite their renown as one of the strongest NA teams, Triumph suffered the same fate as their compatriots a day before and lost to Team One (0-2), with 8-16 on Nuke and 6-16 on Dust II.

Team One Outclass Extra Salt

After two commanding victories against ChocoCheck and Triumph, Team One advanced into the upper bracket finals. There they met with Extra Salt, who finished the group stage tied with ChocoCheck and later added two convincing victories against RGB Esports and paiN Gaming.

Due to their commanding showings, esports bookmakers had Extra Salt priced as betting favorites, expected to outclass Team One and take one step closer to the title. But like all other teams before them, Extra Salt were in for a shock.

Team One took the series lead with 16-12 on Dust II, with Extra Salt responding with a commanding 16-6 victory on Ancient. Still, they proved no match for Team One, who won the final map of the series (Nuke) with 16-12 and secured a spot in the finals.

There, they reunited with Extra Salt, who took down paiN Gaming (2-0) in the lower bracket finals to secure a rematch with the Brazilians. Like the first time out, however, the NA squad couldn’t keep up.

Team One entered the series with a map advantage and increased their lead to 2-0 with a 16-13 victory on Mirage. Extra Salt struck back on Ancient with a 16-10 win, albeit it wasn’t enough to keep their wheels spinning.

The ESEA Season 37: Premier Division – North America grand finals came down to Inferno, where Extra Salt struggled to leave a dent in Team One. The Brazilians secured a commanding 10-5 lead before the switch and needed only nine more rounds to seal the deal at 16-8.

As an underdog no one expected to succeed, Team One overcame some of the strongest NA CS:GO teams and secured a spot at the prestigious ESL Pro League Season 14.

ESL Pro League Season 14 Kicks Off On August 18

With that win, Team One earned their right to compete at ESL Pro League Season 14, where they’ll meet some of the strongest CS:GO esports teams in the world. The tournament will run from August 18 – September 12, with 24 teams in attendance and $750,000 on the line.

The teams that are already confirmed to attend the tournament include G2 Esports, mousesports, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, Team Liquid, and Team Vitality, Astralis, Complexity, Evil Geniuses, and ENCE. This includes six of the top-10 teams in the global rankings.

Given how stacked the tournament is, Team One aren’t expected to make it far. The esports bookmakers have yet to offer betting odds on ESL Pro League Season 14; however, it’s easy to speculate that Team One won’t be the ones to compete for the medal.