ESL Unleashes Elite Lineup: Apeks, Rebels, MIBR, and Rooster Headline Invites for Thrilling Challenger Showdown in Melbourne!
ESL has revealed the lineup of four invited teams set to compete in its upcoming Challenger tournament in Melbourne, Australia, scheduled for April 26-28.
Apeks, currently holding the highest ranking among the confirmed participants, secured their spot through an ESL World Ranking invite. Rebels, rising to the top 30 after their qualification for the IEM Katowice group stage, also earned an ESL World Ranking invite, along with MIBR.
Rooster, the second-strongest team in Oceania, secured the 'Local Hero' invite, bypassing Grayhound, who will be busy competing in ESL Pro League Season 19 during the same period.
Completing the roster are two teams already qualified through the Asia and Oceania qualifiers: Newhappy and sunday school. The final two spots will be determined through qualifiers in North America, featuring contenders like NRG, Party Astronauts, and Mythic, and Europe, scheduled for February 28-March 1.
The confirmed lineup for ESL's Challenger tournament in Melbourne is as follows:
- Europe: Apeks
- Brazil: MIBR
- Poland: Rebels
- Australia: Rooster
- China: Newhappy
- Australia: sunday school
- Europe: EU closed qualifier
- North America: NA closed qualifier
Bogdan Lashchenko – content manager at EgamersWorld.Bogdan has been working at EGamersWorld since 2023. Joining the company, he began fillin the site with information, news and events.
46vitaliiD
FaZe beat Liquid on IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketFaZe secured a 2–1 win over Liquid in the IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper Bracket, advancing to Stage 2. EliGE led the charge with a 1.39 rating over three maps.
45vitaliiDHeroic vs MIBR – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketHeroic eliminate MIBR 2–0 at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. yxngstxr and tN1R lead with dominant CT sides. Heroic advance to play Virtus.pro next. MIBR exit in 13–16th place.
52vitaliiDFlyQuest vs B8 – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketFlyQuest eliminate B8 in a close 2–1 series at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. regali leads with a 1.25 rating. FlyQuest advance to face Liquid in lower round 2, B8 are out of the tournament.
60vitaliiDNinjas in Pyjamas vs 3DMAX – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketNinjas in Pyjamas defeat 3DMAX 2–0 in IEM Cologne 2025 upper quarters. xKacpersky top-frags with 1.41 rating. NiP qualify for Stage 2, 3DMAX fall to lower bracket to face TYLOO next.
58vitaliiDTYLOO vs Complexity – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketTYLOO eliminate Complexity 2–1 in the IEM Cologne 2025 lower bracket. Moseyuh leads with a 1.26 rating. TYLOO advance to face 3DMAX, while Complexity exit in 13–16th place.
47vitaliiDGamerLegion vs Virtus.pro – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketGamerLegion defeat Virtus.pro 2–0 at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 upper quarters. PR leads with 1.52 rating. GamerLegion qualify for Stage 2, VP fall to lower bracket vs Heroic.
