The main favorites of the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 17

There is very little time left before the start of ESL Pro League Season 17, the main tournament of this spring, as well as the last test of the strength of the participants before the RMR tournaments and the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 itself. 32 teams will immediately fight for the right to become the winner of the tournament. And there are many candidates for one slot, which we propose to talk about. In other words, we will present the main favorites of the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 17. To simplify the view, we will sort the leaders into groups in which they will start their journey in the championship.

Group A

Members:

• Outsiders, G2 Esports, fnatic, Cloud9, IHC Esports, MIBR, Eternal Fire and Evil Geniuses.

Here, the main favorite is definitely the G2 Esports team. Now the Samurai are the most stable team on the scene, especially since they have not lost fifteen matches in a row. Of the recent successes of G2 Esports, the victory at the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, as well as three confident victories in the closed qualifiers for the RMR tournament, stand out. Moreover, the team has a suitable group to develop a winning streak and immediately go to the quarterfinals.

At the same time, the Outsiders team should become the leader of group A. After recent changes, the team managed to play in Katowice, where, with all their problems, they managed to get into the playoffs. But if the defeat against NAVI showed that dastan's men needed time, then over the past two weeks the guys could gain momentum. And it’s hard to get out of your head that we are talking about the reigning champion of the major. Therefore, there is every right to consider the Outsiders one of the group's favorites, especially since the grid has separated the "honey badgers" from G2 Esports.

It turned out to be quite difficult with the third favorite, but Cloud9 is definitely worth noting. Yes, the "cloud" ones failed at the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, where they sensationally lost to the Mongols and flew out. However, now the team has one last chance to prove their worth. And the main advantage of Cloud9 is the shooting of the leaders, who are among the best in the scene.

Among those who can compete for a place in the playoffs, it is worth highlighting the teams fnatic and Eternal Fire. However, a lot will probably be decided in a face-to-face meeting, which will most likely fall in one of the lower brackets.

Group B

Members:

• Movistar Riders, Heroic, BIG, SAW, MOUZ, Imperial Esports, FURIA and Complexity Gaming.

If we talk about the favorites, then in group B the Danish team Heroic stands out noticeably. Quite recently, Xizt's wards reached the finals of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, having noticeably gained shape during the tournament. But if in the final they failed to cope with G2 Esports, the team still proved its worth. In general, the Danes got a completely passing group, where there are no pronounced competitors. Therefore, Heroic has excellent chances to get a direct ticket to the quarterfinals.

With other contenders for the playoffs, it is quite difficult, because each team can surprise. However, the main rivals for the Danes could be MOUZ, BIG and FURIA, who, despite the failure in Katowice, have great potential. We should not forget about Complexity Gaming, which played confidently in Poland and almost made it to the playoffs. However, we have to admit one thing: the competition in Group B will be unprecedented.

Group C

Members:

• FaZe Clan, Team Vitality, Ninjas in Pajamas, OG, Grayhound Gaming, Rooster, 00NATION and paiN Gaming.

The clear favorite of group C is FaZe Clan. The wards of RobbaN showed a controversial start in the new season, not even getting into the playoffs of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023. However, despite the overall increase in competition, the European team still remains at the forefront and is still capable of defeating many rivals by experience. Moreover, the team got into the easy bracket, where only Ninjas in Pajamas will be among the rivals.

Team Vitality is also worth highlighting here. Despite the line-up changes (zonic's team will play together with JACKZ), the team remains among the leaders of the scene, as it has very cool and experienced performers. And the ZywOo factor still brings victories to the team on a regular basis.

The next contender for a place in the playoffs could be Ninjas in Pajamas. In light of the latest roster changes, the team needed more time and the failure in Katowice could be the catalyst for further growth. Therefore, there is a right to believe that in recent weeks the team has taken into account its mistakes and has become stronger. It is unlikely that the “ninjas” will be able to remain undefeated, but in the lower bracket the guys have excellent chances to complete the “minimum” task.

Perhaps, two teams will fight for the last ticket to the playoffs - OG and 00NATION. In the first case, we are forced to make allowances for an unexpected parting with the captain, while the Brazilians are just getting in shape and have not competed with the best for a long time. However, against the background of the remaining opponents, the teams have the best chances to shoot and go further.

Group D

Members:

• Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, Team Spirit, Astralis, forZe, ATK, ENCE and Rare Atom.

One of the favorites of group D will be Natus Vincere. Despite all the reshuffles and problems, in just a month, "Born to Win" showed excellent growth and managed to reach the semi-finals of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023. In the remaining three weeks, the team will become even stronger, gaining momentum. The only disadvantage of Natus Vincere may be a difficult bracket, but even so, the team has excellent chances to be in the playoffs of the tournament.

Together with the "Born to Win" the North American team Team Liquid is the favorite. "Liquid" also visited the 1/2 finals of Katowice. At the same time, the team gradually gained momentum during the tournament, having managed to get difficult victories over Team Spirit, FaZe Clan and Team Vitality. In other words, North Americans have returned to their former condition. And there is to take into account that the team was lucky with the grid, it's practically a free slot in the playoffs.

Speaking of other contenders, three teams claim the remaining two spots in the playoffs - Astralis, Team Spirit and ENCE. The first ones are just forming their new look and sometimes they are mistaken. The latter became mired in instability and began to disappoint much more often. Still others have even conceived a restructuring during the season and will now play well. Thus, each of these teams can show itself as superior to other competitors.

ESL Pro League Season 17 will take place from February 22 to March 26 in Malta. As part of the championship, 32 teams from the CIS, Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania will compete for a total prize pool of $850,000, as well as tickets to IEM Cologne 2023 and BLAST World Final 2023 for the winner.

Prize pool distribution for ESL Pro League Season 17

• 1st place: $200,000 + 3,000 points + tickets to IEM Cologne 2023 and BLAST World Final 2023
• 2nd place: $90,000 + 2,000 points
• 3rd-4th place: $50,000 + 1,200 points
• 5th-8th place: $35,000 + 500 points
• 9th-12th place: $25,000
• 13th-16th place: $20,000
• 17th-20th place: $15,000
• 21st-24th place: $8,000
• 25th-28th place: $8,000
• 29th-32nd place: $4,000