Group C results for ESL Pro League Season 17
Elen StelmakhGroup C of ESL Pro League Season 17 has come to an end, with teams Vitality, FaZe Clan, paiN Gaming and 00NATION making it through to the playoffs of the competition. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Grayhound Gaming, OG and Rooster, on the other hand, were all left out, putting their ambitions on the back burner. That said, the band had a few interesting moments, worth talking about in terms of each member.
Vitality
Group C's strongest performer was Vitality. In fact, before the start of the tournament dupreeh left the starting line-up and had to be replaced by JACKZ. However, from the very start, the French squad showed an unbelievable readiness for the tournament.
As a result, Vitality claimed three wins in their group and played extremely well. More importantly, ZywOo put on one of their best performances of the past year, which also made a big difference.
Thus, even the roughest game against FaZe Clan could not stop Vitality, making them favourites for the play-offs.
FaZe Clan
The perennial favourite and once world number one team was considered a contender for a direct place in the quarterfinals. However, many had the feeling that RobbaN's charges would once again have problems, which have surfaced repeatedly in recent months.
However, FaZe Clan got off to a strong start in this tournament with two resounding victories over Rooster and Ninjas in Pyjamas. However, in the group finals, the team lost monstrously to Vitality, where they revealed all their current problems.
Perhaps, in the current realities, no team would give up a 14-1 comeback so easily. But FaZe Clan managed to pull off a sensation to tacitly characterise their fortunes. Thus, although the team entered the playoffs with good seeding, RobbaN's wards will no longer be favourites and title contenders there.
paiN Gaming
The Brazilian team really surprised in this group stage. And after the failure in Katowice, not many thought that there was any sense to expect any resistance from paiN Gaming at the TIER-1 level.
But the team decided to do something different and from the very beginning they began to show amazing preparation and well-coordinated play. And the Brazilians didn't give up after a close loss to Ninjas in Pyjamas, actually settling into the bottom set.
In part, paiN Gaming were lucky with their opponents as the team went through the Aussies. But at the same time, the squad managed to close out OG, which comes at a price. In general, the Brazilians surprised with a "plus" sign, although in the playoffs the boys are unlikely to open up.
00NATION
The most obscure participant of Group C's top 4. Judging solely by their play, 00NATION was one of the worst teams of the group stage. Nevertheless, the Last Chance net, combined with the opponents' incomprehensible moves, took the Brazilians into the play-offs.
In general, things started out badly for the squad, as it lost to OG and Grayhound Gaming from the start, and nearly lost to Rooster afterwards. But the miracles didn't end there, as 00NATION escaped in the second meeting with Grayhound Gaming.
And the final victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas as the quintessential lack of logic. No, the Brazilians should be praised for fighting to the end and not giving up. But in essence, 00NATION showed a very weak game, which will be very difficult to handle in the playoffs.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
The first rude failure was Ninjas in Pyjamas. You could have thought and believed all you wanted that in a few weeks of preparation, the team would be able to play together and come to a common denominator. Yep, now!
Already from the start it was obvious that the team had some problems mentally. Barely having beaten paiN Gaming, djL's wards fell apart in front of FaZe Clan, and then lost to Grayhound Gaming of Australia.
The cherry on the cake was the final loss to 00NATION, where Ninjas in Pyjamas believed in themselves too early. There's only one conclusion here - the organisation has gone down the wrong path, and it's only going to get worse from here on with Aleksib.
Grayhound Gaming
It's worth mentioning beforehand that no one expected Grayhound Gaming to make the playoffs or at least struggle. But the Australian outfit did manage to post some decent play as far as the end result is concerned.
In terms of content, however, Grayhound Gaming's performance couldn't be worse. First of all, the team lost to themselves in their last game against 00NATION. Secondly, the Australians can't hold a lead, but aliStair screamed as if they were closing out the finals of the majors.
The team did, however, record a win over Ninjas in Pyjamas, which is a success in any situation. Nevertheless, you can't say that Asian Counter-Strike is making a comeback; it's just that some of the favourites have now played below their capabilities.
OG
Another championship failure is Team OG. I can't say what the departure of nexa has to do with it, but objectively the loss of such a strong captain has hit the team's prospects.
Quite frankly, the OG now not only lacks an experienced IGL, but also a stable shooter. Firstly, with the move to a related role degster has sagged a lot in terms of play. Secondly, niko is a set of instability and inability to press the situation.
All this resulted in a monster game, where OG were left far behind in the playoffs. And I think that very soon we will see the news about the reshuffle of the squad - it can't be otherwise.
Rooster
There's not much to talk about here, since the Australian team came to the championship with one goal in mind - to rest. Yes, Rooster even managed to put up a fight against 00NATION. Otherwise, however, we saw a team of a very different level, far from TIER-1.
At times Rooster was the first to score and showed some good rounds. But compared to everyone else in Group C, the boys were deservedly sidelined.
ESL Pro League Season 17 runs from February 22 to March 26 in Malta. The 32 teams from CIS, Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania are fighting for the total prize pool of $850,000 as well as trips to IEM Cologne 2023 and BLAST World Final 2023 for the winner.
Interim results for ESL Pro League Season 17
- 1st place: $200,000 + 3,000 points + entry to IEM Cologne 2023 and BLAST World Final 2023
- 2nd place: $90,000 + 2,000 points
- 3-4th place: $50,000 + 1,200 points
- 5-8th place: $35,000 + 500 points
- 9th-12th place: $25,000
- 13th-16th place: $20,000
- 17-20th place: Eternal Fire, BIG and Ninjas in Pyjamas - $15,000
- 21st-28th place: MIBR, IHC Esports, SAW, Complexity Gaming, Grayhound Gaming and OG - $8,000
- Place 29-32: Evil Geniuses, Imperial Esports and Rooster - $4,000
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Elen Stelmakh is a creative individual dedicated to advancing gaming culture through articles and visual design. As a full-time EGamersWorld author and designer for a gaming website, Elen not only creates content but also infuses it with energy and creativity.