ESL Pro League Season 9 explained

ESL Pro League
Sport:
Year:2019
Location:Leicester, United Kingdom (Europe group stage)
Burbank, California (Americas group stage)
Montpellier, France (Finals)
Start Date:April 12, 2019
End Date:June 23, 2019
Administrator:Electronic Sports League (ESL)
Venue:ESL studios (Europe and America group stages)
Montpellier Exhibition Center (Finals group stage)
Sud de France Arena (Finals playoffs)
Teams:48 teams
Purse:750,000
Champions:Team Liquid
Runners-Up1:G2 Esports
Runners-Up2:mousesports
NRG Esports
Mvp:Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
Previous:Season 8
Next:Season 10

ESL Pro League Season 9 (shortened as EPL Season 9) was a tournament run by ESL. It was the ninth season of the ESL Pro League. Teams from five continents – North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America – competed in four leagues to attempt to qualify for the Finals. The regular season started on April 12, 2019, and ended in June 2019. This season was also the fourth tournament of the Intel Grand Slam Season 2. The EPL Finals took place in Montpellier, France.[1]

The finals for ESL Pro League Season 9 featured G2 Esports, which defeated FaZe Clan and NRG Esports en route to the grand finals, and Team Liquid, which defeated Astralis and mousesports. The season concluded with Team Liquid defeating G2 Esports three games to one to earn its inaugural Pro League title. This is the inaugural that a North American team has won a premier title in Europe.

Format

This season introduced a vastly different format than other seasons. Instead like last season, which had five leagues, there will only be four leagues: Europe, Americas, Asia, and Oceania.

Europe's league will feature sixteen teams, thirteen of which were automatically invited based on their top thirteen placement from last season. One team qualified by winning season 29 of Europe's Premier Division and another two teams qualified through the relegation phase. The Americas league also had sixteen teams, but instead of just teams based in North America, it will also feature Latin American teams. This league will feature the top nine teams from North America's season 8, the winner of season 29 of North America's Premier Division, and two teams from the relegation phase; there will also be four Latin American teams. Asia's league will feature four teams from the Greater China area and four teams from Southeast Asia. Oceania's league will feature eight teams. Both Asia and Oceania's regular seasons will remain online.[2]

The biggest change came with Europe's and the America's leagues featuring offline regular season play. This format will be similar to a mix of the ELEAGUE Season 1 group stage and the ESL One Katowice 2015 group stage. Four teams at a time will fly out to an ESL studio and play their matches there. For all four leagues, teams will be divided into groups of four teams and play a best of three robin round. For Europe, there were four groups. The winners of each group automatically moved on to the Finals while the teams that placed second and third moved to a second group stage. Fourth place teams were eliminated. In the second group stage, there were two groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group qualified for the finals. For the Americas, the first group stage was the same, but for the second group stage, only one team from each group moved on to the Finals. For Asia and Oceania, there were two groups in the first stage. The top two teams moved on to the second stage. There, only one team from each region qualified for the Finals in France.[3] [4]

Qualifiers

Season 8 Relegation

Europe Relegation

Due to Europe's league expanding to sixteen teams, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic were automatically invited to this season rather than playing in this relegation phase and AGO Esports played in the relegation phase instead of being automatically sent down to the Premier Division. In addition, Epsilon eSports was unable to play in relegation, so OpTic, which had the best record in Premier, took its place.

North America Relegation

Teams

Europe

Americas

Asia

Oceania

Europe

Stage 1

Group A

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1mousesports3010055+45
2OpTic Gaming2111095+15
3North1284100–16
4ex-Space Soldiers035296–44
Group A matches
North12OpTic Gaming
mousesports20ex-Space Soldiers
mousesports21OpTic Gaming
North20ex-Space Soldiers
mousesports20North
OpTic Gaming20ex-Space Soldiers
mousesports looked strong in its group stage matches, as it only dropped one map out of the six it played. OpTic Gaming also had a strong performance as it was the only team to take a map off of mousesports. North struggled throughout the group stage, but two close map wins against the former players of Space Soldiers allowed the Danes to stay alive. ex-Space Soldiers continued to struggle after leaving Space Soldiers, even under the leadership of veteran Turkish-Australian player Yaman "yam" Ergenekon.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
North16Overpass19OpTic Gaming
North16Train9OpTic Gaming
North11Nuke16OpTic Gaming
mousesports16Inferno2ex-Space Soldiers
mousesports16Train10ex-Space Soldiers
mousesportsMirageex-Space Soldiers
mousesports16Overpass7OpTic Gaming
mousesports4Dust II16OpTic Gaming
mousesports16Train11OpTic Gaming
North16Dust II13ex-Space Soldiers
North16Train11ex-Space Soldiers
NorthInfernoex-Space Soldiers
mousesports16Train4North
mousesports16Mirage5North
mousesportsInfernoNorth
OpTic Gaming16Mirage6ex-Space Soldiers
OpTic Gaming16Overpass10ex-Space Soldiers
OpTic GamingInfernoex-Space Soldiers

Group B

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1FaZe Clan3010760+47
2Heroic12124139–15
3devils.one12102130–28
4Ninjas in Pyjamas12113117–4
Notes
Group B matches
FaZe Clan21devils.one
Ninjas in Pyjamas21Heroic
FaZe Clan21Heroic
Ninjas in Pyjamas12devils.one
FaZe Clan20Ninjas in Pyjamas
Heroic21devils.one
FaZe Clan was clearly the strongest team is it had almost no problem sweeping up the competition. Heroic, devils.one, and Ninjas in Pyjamas were all in a deadlock, each winning only one series. The very close loss to devils.one would come back to haunt Ninjas in Pyjamas as the Swedes were placed last in the group as Heroic and devils.one beat out the tiebreaker. Heroic defeating devils.one in a nail-biter, double overtime third map allowed the Danes to escape with the second seed; had Heroic lost to devils.one, it would have been in last place.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
FaZe Clan16Train4devils.one
FaZe Clan16Dust II6devils.one
FaZe ClanOverpassdevils.one
Ninjas in Pyjamas16Nuke11Heroic
Ninjas in Pyjamas17Train19Heroic
Ninjas in Pyjamas16Mirage10Heroic
FaZe Clan16Overpass8Heroic
FaZe Clan11Dust II16Heroic
FaZe Clan16Mirage11Heroic
Ninjas in Pyjamas13Mirage16devils.one
Ninjas in Pyjamas16Overpass10devils.one
Ninjas in Pyjamas17Nuke19devils.one
FaZe Clan16Mirage14Ninjas in Pyjamas
FaZe Clan16Dust II4Ninjas in Pyjamas
FaZe ClanOverpassNinjas in Pyjamas
Heroic14Train16devils.one
Heroic16Overpass13devils.one
Heroic22Nuke18devils.one

Group C

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1G2 Esports3013010624
2Natus Vincere211311310
3Fnatic121131130
4Windigo Gaming03125149–4
Group C matches
Natus Vincere21Windigo Gaming
Fnatic02G2 Esports
Natus Vincere12G2 Esports
Fnatic21Windigo Gaming
Natus Vincere21Fnatic
G2 Esports21Windigo Gaming
G2 Esports continued to look for a consistent, winning pattern, and it did so in this group, as it took down Natus Vincere (Na`Vi) and Fnatic to top group C. Na`Vi was not shaken up by the G2 loss as it went on to take down Fnatic. Fnatic, arguably the most decorated team in CS:GO, struggled, but defeating Windigo Gaming allowed the Swedes to stay alive. Windigo had strong performances prior, but the Bulgarians struggled to take the game to the finish line, as four of its losses were within four rounds of victory.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Natus Vincere20Overpass22Windigo Gaming
Natus Vincere16Train12Windigo Gaming
Natus Vincere16Dust II14Windigo Gaming
Fnatic11Nuke16G2 Esports
Fnatic17Inferno19G2 Esports
FnaticTrainG2 Esports
Natus Vincere14Nuke16G2 Esports
Natus Vincere16Train11G2 Esports
Natus Vincere9Overpass16G2 Esports
Fnatic16Train10Windigo Gaming
Fnatic13Mirage16Windigo Gaming
Fnatic16Nuke12Windigo Gaming
Natus Vincere16Nuke11Fnatic
Natus Vincere8Overpass16Fnatic
Natus Vincere16Inferno13Fnatic
G2 Esports20Train22Windigo Gaming
G2 Esports16Dust II13Windigo Gaming
G2 Esports16Inferno4Windigo Gaming

Group D

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Astralis3011367+46
2HellRaisers218480+4
3BIG12107113–6
4ex-3DMAX035296–44
Group D matches
BIG12HellRaisers
Astralis20ex-3DMAX
Astralis20HellRaisers
BIG20ex-3DMAX
HellRaisers20ex-3DMAX
Astralis21BIG
The favorites Astralis cleaned up group D with relative ease. HellRaisers and BIG also advanced fairly easily, as ex-3DMAX struggled massively, failing to even win one map.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
BIG16Mirage9HellRaisers
BIG8Train16HellRaisers
BIG8Overpass16HellRaisers
Astralis16Mirage6ex-3DMAX
Astralis16Nuke7ex-3DMAX
AstralisTrainex-3DMAX
Astralis16Dust II4HellRaisers
Astralis16Inferno7HellRaisers
AstralisMirageHellRaisers
BIG16Mirage13ex-3DMAX
BIG16Dust II10ex-3DMAX
BIGTrainex-3DMAX
HellRaisers16Nuke10ex-3DMAX
HellRaisers16Train6ex-3DMAX
HellRaisersInfernoex-3DMAX
Astralis16Dust II10BIG
Astralis17Inferno19BIG
Astralis16Overpass14BIG

Stage 2

Group E

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Fnatic21118115+3
2HellRaisers2110788+19
3Aristocracy128595–10
4OpTic Gaming1297109–12
Notes
Group E matches
OpTic Gaming21Fnatic
HellRaisers20Aristocracy
HellRaisers12Fnatic
OpTic Gaming02Aristocracy
HellRaisers20OpTic Gaming
Fnatic20Aristocracy
Fnatic turned things around after losing to OpTic Gaming in Group E, defeating HellRaisers and sweeping Aristocracy. On the other hand, OpTic did start off quite well, but Aristocracy and HellRaisers both swept the Danish team, taking OpTic out of the running of the EPL S9 title. The early HellRaisers victory over Aristocracy would turn out to be the decider for the final Group E spot in the finals, as Fnatic and HellRaisers moved on.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
OpTic Gaming16Inferno13Fnatic
OpTic Gaming16Nuke19Fnatic
OpTic Gaming16Dust II7Fnatic
HellRaisers16Vertigo10Aristocracy
HellRaisers16Overpass13Aristocracy
HellRaisersVertigoAristocracy
HellRaisers12Mirage16Fnatic
HellRaisers19Overpass15Fnatic
HellRaisers12Train16Fnatic
OpTic Gaming20Mirage22Aristocracy
OpTic Gaming11Nuke16Aristocracy
OpTic GamingOverpassAristocracy
HellRaisers16Inferno11OpTic Gaming
HellRaisers16Mirage7OpTic Gaming
HellRaisersOverpassOpTic Gaming
Fnatic16Nuke13Aristocracy
Fnatic16Mirage11Aristocracy
FnaticTrainAristocracy

Group F

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1North3010980+29
2Heroic219398–5
3Natus Vincere1211499+15
4BIG035796–39
Group F matches
Natus Vincere12North
Heroic20BIG
Natus Vincere20BIG
Heroic02North
Natus Vincere12Heroic
North20BIG
Like Fnatic, North also completely turned things around as it topped Group F, going 3–0, including defeating Na`Vi. Na`Vi was a favorite to head to the Finals, but Heroic upsetting the CIS squad on the last day of European regular season play in a very close third map was the decider, sending Na`Vi home. BIG had some very close maps, but the German team could not pull out a map win.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Natus Vincere14Overpass16North
Natus Vincere16Mirage13North
Natus Vincere13Dust II16North
Heroic16Inferno14BIG
Heroic16Overpass13BIG
HeroicVertigoBIG
Natus Vincere16Dust II6BIG
Natus Vincere16Mirage5BIG
Natus VincereOverpassBIG
Heroic8Nuke16North
Heroic10Mirage16North
HeroicOverpassNorth
Natus Vincere9Vertigo16Heroic
Natus Vincere16Mirage11Heroic
Natus Vincere14Overpass16Heroic
North16Overpass6BIG
North16Train13BIG
NorthDust IIBIG

Europe standings

Europe's final standings are below. The top eight move on to the Finals and qualify for next season. 9th to 12th do not qualify for the Finals, but are invited to next season. The bottom four teams will have to play in a relegation phase for a spot in next season. Each team's in-game leader is shown first.

PlaceTeamPrize MoneyRosterCoach
1st-4thmousesportsTBDkarrigan, chrisJ,,, Rejin
FaZe ClanNiKo, AdreN, GuardiaN, olofmeister, YNk
G2 Esports, AmaNeK, JaCkz, kennyS, Lucky
Astralis,, dupreeh, Magisk, Xyp9x
5th-6thFnaticTBDXizt, Brollan, JW, KRiMZ, Jumpy
North,,, JUGi, Kjaerbye
7th-8thHellRaisersTBDANGE1, ISSAA,,,
Heroic,, NaToSaphiX,, friberg
9th-10thAristocracy10,000TaZ,, MINISE,, Loord
Natus VincereZeus, Edward, s1mple,,
11th-12thOpTic Gaming8,000MSL,,,, Snappi
BIG,,,, XANTARES
13th-16thex-Space Soldiers6,000, Calyx,,,
Ninjas in PyjamasLekr0,, f0rest, GeT RiGhT, REZ
Windigo Gamingbubble,,, SHiPZ, Shockwave
ex-3DMAX,, JiNKZ, LOGAN, MakaMax0b

Americas

Stage 1

Group A

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1NRG Esports219586+9
2218671+15
3Renegades219385+8
4INTZ eSports036496-32
Notes
Group A matches
NRG Esports20INTZ eSports
Renegades02
NRG Esports20
Renegades20INTZ eSports
NRG Esports12Renegades
20INTZ eSports
NRG Esports,, and Renegades all tied in series wins, while INTZ eSports failed to find even a map win. NRG would book a spot in the finals since it took a map off of the Renegades. was seeded second based on defeating the Renegades.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
NRG Esports16Cache9INTZ eSports
NRG Esports16Train9INTZ eSports
NRG EsportsNukeINTZ eSports
Renegades6Overpass16
Renegades9Mirage16
RenegadesDust II
NRG Esports16Dust II13
NRG Esports16Mirage9
NRG EsportsOverpass
Renegades16Dust II9INTZ eSports
Renegades16Mirage13INTZ eSports
RenegadesTrainINTZ eSports
NRG Esports12Mirage16Renegades
NRG Esports16Train14Renegades
NRG Esports3Inferno16Renegades
16Mirage13INTZ eSports
16Overpass11INTZ eSports
TrainINTZ eSports

Group B

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Team Liquid3010840+68
2Ghost Gaming2196101-5
312103125-22
4Lazarus Esports035899-41
Group B matches
Team Liquid20Lazarus Esports
Ghost Gaming21compLexity Gaming
Team Liquid21compLexity Gaming
Ghost Gaming20Lazarus Gaming
Team Liquid20Ghost Gaming
compLexity Gaming20Lazarus Gaming
Team Liquid had a fairly easy time in the group stage, as the top ranked team in the world only suffered a loss to compLexity Gaming (coL), only to stomp coL in the next two maps. The newly formed Lazarus Esports gained good experience against some notable North American teams, but the inexperience proved to be too much to overcome. Ghost Gaming and coL moved on to stage 2 while Liquid went straight to the Finals.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Team Liquid16Nuke2Lazarus Esports
Team Liquid16Overpass4Lazarus Esports
Team LiquidInfernoEsports Gaming
Ghost Gaming16Mirage19compLexity Gaming
Ghost Gaming16Overpass13compLexity Gaming
Ghost Gaming19Nuke15compLexity Gaming
Team Liquid12Cache16compLexity Gaming
Team Liquid16Dust II2compLexity Gaming
Team Liquid16Inferno3compLexity Gaming
Ghost Gaming16Inferno11Lazarus Esports
Ghost Gaming16Overpass11Lazarus Esports
Ghost GamingDust IILazarus Esports
Team Liquid16Mirage3Ghost Gaming
Team Liquid16Dust II10Ghost Gaming
Team LiquidNukeGhost Gaming
compLexity Gaming19Mirage17Lazarus Esports
compLexity Gaming16Nuke13Lazarus Esports
compLexity GamingInfernoLazarus Esports

Group C

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Luminosity Gaming2111289+23
2MIBR217960+19
3Cloud9218890-2
4Team Envy0365105-40
Notes
Group C matches
MIBR02Luminosity Gaming
Cloud920Team Envy
MIBR20Team Envy
Cloud920Luminosity Gaming
MIBR20Cloud9
Team Envy02Luminosity Gaming
Luminosity Gaming topped group C in a huge surprise, as the team was not even supposed to be in Pro League to begin with. Team Envy continued to struggle with its lineup, even with its new addition of Sam "s0m" Oh. Envy bottomed out the group while MIBR and Cloud9 stayed alive.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
MIBR7Inferno16Luminosity Gaming
MIBR8Train16Luminosity Gaming
MIBRMirageLuminosity Gaming
Cloud916Inferno8Team Envy
Cloud916Mirage11Team Envy
Cloud9CacheTeam Envy
MIBR16Cache14Team Envy
MIBR16Train4Team Envy
MIBRNukeTeam Envy
Cloud916Dust II11Luminosity Gaming
Cloud914Inferno16Luminosity Gaming
Cloud916Mirage12Luminosity Gaming
MIBR16Overpass9Cloud9
MIBR16Train1Cloud9
MIBRMirageCloud9
Team Envy16Train9Luminosity Gaming
Team Envy7Inferno16Luminosity Gaming
Team Envy5Cache16Luminosity Gaming

Group D

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1DETONA Gaming3012086+34
2Isurus Gaming2110270+32
3Infinity Esports1280101-21
4Denial Esports0380125-45
Group D matches
Isurus Gaming20Denial Esports
Infinity Esports02DETONA Gaming
Isurus Gaming12DETONA Gaming
Infinity Esports21Denial Esports
Isurus Gaming20Infinity Esports
DETONA Gaming20Denial Esports
The new Denial Esports lineup struggled as it went 0–3 to the other South American teams. DETONA Gaming went straight into the Finals after taking down every team it faced while Isurus Gaming and Infinity Esports would go on to face a tough task in going against experienced North American teams.`
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Isurus Gaming16Inferno8Denial Esports
Isurus Gaming16Overpass2Denial Esports
Isurus GamingMirageDenial Esports
Infinity Esports6Nuke16DETONA Gaming
Infinity Esports9Inferno16DETONA Gaming
Infinity EsportsTrainDETONA Gaming
Isurus Gaming14Mirage16DETONA Gaming
Isurus Gaming16Dust II12DETONA Gaming
Isurus Gaming8Inferno16DETONA Gaming
Infinity Esports19Mirage17Denial Esports
Infinity Esports14Inferno16Denial Esports
Infinity Esports16Mirage4Denial Esports
Isurus Gaming16Mirage9Infinity Esports
Isurus Gaming16Dust II7Infinity Esports
Isurus GamingInfernoInfinity Esports
DETONA Gaming28Overpass24Denial Esports
DETONA Gaming16Mirage9Denial Esports
DETONA GamingTrainDenial Esports

Stage 2

Group E

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1MIBR3010770+37
2Renegades219273+19
3Isurus Gaming1283104-21
4compLexity Gaming0398133-35
Group E matches
Renegades21compLexity Gaming
MIBR20Isurus Gaming
Isurus Gaming02Renegades
MIBR21compLexity Gaming
MIBR20Renegades
Isurus Gaming21compLexity Gaming
MIBR readjusted and took down every one in Group E, with only a slip up against coL. Renegades nearly made the Finals, but the loss to MIBR on the last day was the decider. Isurus upset coL to round out Group E and earned an extra 1,000.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Renegades16Nuke4compLexity Gaming
Renegades12Dust II16compLexity Gaming
Renegades16Mirage8compLexity Gaming
MIBR16Dust II10Isurus Gaming
MIBR16Overpass14Isurus Gaming
MIBRTrainIsurus Gaming
Isurus Gaming9Mirage16Renegades
Isurus Gaming4Dust II16Renegades
Isurus GamingTrainRenegades
MIBR11Dust II16compLexity Gaming
MIBR16Overpass1compLexity Gaming
MIBR16Mirage13compLexity Gaming
MIBR16Mirage2Renegades
MIBR16Train14Renegades
MIBRDust IIRenegades
Isurus Gaming11Nuke16compLexity Gaming
Isurus Gaming19Train16compLexity Gaming
Isurus Gaming16Dust II8compLexity Gaming

Group F

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Cloud93011784+33
2Ghost Gaming2111699+17
312111101+10
4Infinity Esports033696-60
Group F matches
12Cloud9
Ghost Gaming20Infinity Esports
Ghost Gaming21
Cloud920Infinity Esports
Ghost Gaming12Cloud9
20Infinity Esports
Like MIBR, Cloud9 topped its group, defeating Ghost on the last day despite its recent struggles. Infinity could not find some success like Isurus did, including getting 16-0'd by .
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
16Inferno8Cloud9
14Nuke16Cloud9
7Dust II16Cloud9
Ghost Gaming16Mirage7Infinity Esports
Ghost Gaming16Nuke5Infinity Esports
Ghost GamingDust IIInfinity Esports
9Mirage16Ghost Gaming
22Dust II18Ghost Gaming
11Mirage16Ghost Gaming
Cloud916Train2Infinity Esports
Cloud916Inferno11Infinity Esports
Cloud9Dust IIInfinity Esports
Ghost Gaming16Inferno13Cloud9
8Nuke16Cloud9
10Dust II16Cloud9
16Dust II0Infinity Esports
16Mirage11Infinity EsportsCloud9InfernoInfinity Esports

Americas standings

The Americas' final standings are below. The top six move on to the Finals and qualify for next season. 7th to 12th do not qualify for the Finals, but are invited to next season. The bottom four teams will have to play in a relegation phase for a spot in next season. Each team's in-game leader is shown first.

PlaceTeamPrize MoneyRosterCoach
1st-4thNRG EsportsTBDdaps, Brehze, Ethan, tarik, CeRqImAPet
Team Liquidnitr0, ELiGE, Stewie2K, NAF, TwistzzadreN
Luminosity Gamingsteel, boltz, HEN1, LUCAS1, NEKIZzakk
DETONA Gamingtiburci0, hardzao, prt, Tuurtle, v$mrikz
5th-6thMIBRTBDFalleN, coldzera,, fer, TACOzews
Cloud9Golden,, RUSH, vice, cajunbvalens
7th-8thRenegades8,000AZR, jks, liazz, jkaem, smooyakassad
Ghost Gamingsteel, FREAKAZOiD, koosta, neptune, WardellJamezIRL
9th-10thIsurus Gaming7,000Noktse, 1962, meyern, reversive, maxujaspino
Cooper-, food, motm, vanity, MarkEa2z
11th-12thcompLexity Gaming6,000stanislaw, ShahZaM, SicK, yay, dephhWarden
Infinity Esportsspamzzy, Daveys, points, cruzN, malbsMdalone
13th-16thINTZ eSports5,000kNgV-, chelo, destiny, xand, yeLApoka
Lazarus EsportsZellsis, Infinite, swag, yay, SubrozafRoD
Team EnvyNifty, FugLy, jdm64, s0m, ANDROIDEley
Denial EsportssickLy, blue, Link, sam_A, VAATIEmmet

Asia

Stage 1

East Asia

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1TyLoo2111278+34
2MVP PK219177+14
3ViCi Gaming1276101-25
45Power Gaming1292115-23
Notes
East Asia matches
TyLoo125Power Gaming
ViCi Gaming02MVP PK
TyLoo21MVP PK
ViCi Gaming215Power Gaming
TyLoo20ViCi Gaming
MVP PK205Power Gaming
5Power Gaming started very strong by defeating favorites TyLoo while MVP PK took down the second seeded ViCi Gaming. However, 5Power's success would not last long as it fell to ViCi and MVP PK was downed by TyLoo. TyLoo and MVP PK would lock their spots for the Asia finals after taking down ViCi and 5Power, respectively. on the last day.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
TyLoo14Dust II165Power Gaming
TyLoo16Mirage95Power Gaming
TyLoo12Inferno165Power Gaming
ViCi Gaming11Inferno16MVP PK
ViCi Gaming14Overpass16MVP PK
ViCi GamingMirageMVP PK
TyLoo16Inferno7MVP PK
TyLoo22Mirage20MVP PK
TyLooOverpassMVP PK
ViCi Gaming9Dust II165Power Gaming
ViCi Gaming16Nuke95Power Gaming
TyLoo16Mirage125Power Gaming
TyLoo16Dust II1ViCi Gaming
TyLoo16Mirage9ViCi Gaming
TyLooOverpassViCi Gaming
MVP PK16Dust II75Power Gaming
MVP PK16Inferno75Power Gaming
MVP PKTrain5Power Gaming

Southeast Asia

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Lucid Dream3012688+38
2ALPHA Red218775+12
3B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape12105102+3
4Entity Gaming031164-53
Southeast Asia matches
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape20Entity Gaming
Lucid Dream21ALPHA Red
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape12ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream20Entity Gaming
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape12Lucid Dream
Lucid DreamWFFEntity Gaming
The two Thai teams overcame B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape to secure spots in the Asia finals. Entity Gaming from India struggled as it only garnered eleven rounds in four maps before eventually forfeiting its last match to ALPHA Red.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape16Inferno2Entity Gaming
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape16Mirage2Entity Gaming
B.O.O.T-dream[S]capeDust IIEntity Gaming
Lucid Dream10Dust II16ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream16Mirage13ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream16Train12ALPHA Red
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape16Mirage14ALPHA Red
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape3Dust II16ALPHA Red
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape14Train16ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream16Mirage4Entity Gaming
Lucid Dream16Nuke3Entity Gaming
Lucid DreamDust IIEntity Gaming
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape22Nuke20Lucid Dream
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape7Dust II16Lucid Dream
B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape11Mirage16Lucid Dream
ALPHA RedWMirageFFEntity Gaming
ALPHA RedWDust IIFFEntity Gaming
ALPHA RedTrainEntity Gaming

Stage 2

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1TyLoo3011282+30
2MVP PK2111077+33
3Lucid Dream127282-10
4ALPHA Red034699-53
Asia qualifier matches
Lucid Dream02MVP PK
TyLoo20ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream20ALPHA Red
TyLoo21MVP PK
TyLoo20Lucid Dream
MVP PK20ALPHA Red
The two East Asian team proved to be superior to the Southeast Asian teams, but it was TyLoo to take the Finals spot over MVP PK in a close three game set. Lucid Dream took down ALPHA Red to place third.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Lucid Dream10Dust II16MVP PK
Lucid Dream2Train16MVP PK
Lucid DreamMirageMVP PK
TyLoo16Overpass6ALPHA Red
TyLoo16Mirage6ALPHA Red
TyLooInfernoALPHA Red
Lucid Dream16Mirage8ALPHA Red
Lucid Dream16Inferno10ALPHA Red
Lucid DreamInfernoALPHA Red
TyLoo16Dust II14MVP PK
TyLoo16Mirage19MVP PK
TyLoo16Train10MVP PK
TyLoo16Overpass14Lucid Dream
TyLoo16Mirage14Lucid Dream
TyLooDust IILucid Dream
MVP PK16Dust II1ALPHA Red
MVP PK19Mirage16ALPHA Red
MVP PKInfernoALPHA Red

Asia standings

The Asian final standings are below. The top team moved on to the Finals and qualifies for next season. 2nd to 6th do not qualify for the Finals, but are invited to next season. The bottom two teams will have to play in a relegation phase for a spot in next season. Each team's in-game leader is shown first.

PlaceTeamPrize MoneyRosterCoach
1stTyLooTBDBnTeT, Attacker, somebody, Summer, xccurate
2ndMVP PK5,500hsk, stax, xeta, XigN, zefftermi
3rdLucid Dream4,500cbbk, Geniuss, PTC, qqgod, wannafly
4thALPHA Red4,000MAIROLLS, foxz, Kntz, Olivia, SeveN89
5th-6thB.O.O.T-dream[S]cape0alecks, Benkai, Bobosaur, splashske, d4v41
ViCi Gamingadvent, aumaN, zhokiNg, kaze, Freeman
7th-8thEntity Gaming0Dav, Amaterasu, Excali, Psy, DJOXiCsoLo
5Power GamingxiaosaGe, shuadapai, Viva, dobu, kabalXiaoxizi

Oceania

Stage 1

Group A

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1ORDER3010787+20
2Athletico Esports12106102+4
3Breakaway Esports129599-4
4Paradox Gaming1289109-20
Notes
Group A matches
ORDER20Paradox Gaming
Breakaway Esports02Athletico Esports
ORDER21Athletico Esports
Breakaway Esports20Paradox Gaming
ORDER21Breakaway Esports
Athletico Esports02Paradox Gaming
ORDER had an easy time against its competitors as it went 3–0. Athletico Esports was able to steal away the second seed based on having more map wins than either Breakaway Esports or Paradox Gaming.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
ORDER16Mirage12Paradox Gaming
ORDER16Nuke4Paradox Gaming
ORDERInfernoParadox Gaming
Breakaway Esports10Mirage16Athletico Esports
Breakaway Esports11Nuke16Athletico Esports
Breakaway EsportsOverpassAthletico Esports
ORDER16Mirage11Athletico Esports
ORDER5Nuke16Athletico Esports
ORDER16Inferno5Athletico Esports
Breakaway Esports19Mirage16Paradox Gaming
Breakaway Esports16Nuke13Paradox Gaming
Breakaway EsportsOverpassParadox Gaming
ORDER16Nuke11Breakaway Esports
ORDER6Inferno16Breakaway Esports
ORDER16Mirage12Breakaway Esports
Athletico Esports13Mirage16Paradox Gaming
Athletico Esports16Overpass12Paradox Gaming
Athletico Esports13Cache16Paradox Gaming

Group B

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Grayhound Gaming30995841
2Chiefs Esports Club218371+12
3Avant Gaming128486-2
4Ground Zero Gaming034596-51
Group B matches
Grayhound Gaming20Ground Zero Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club20Avant Gaming
Grayhound Gaming20Avant Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club20Ground Zero Gaming
Grayhound Gaming20Chiefs Esports Club
Avant Gaming20Ground Zero Gaming
The favorites Grayhound Gaming had an even easier time than ORDER as it cruised to a 3–0 scoreline without dropping a map. Chiefs Esports Club defeated Avant Gaming on the first day of group B to take the second seed while Ground Zero Gaming did not even take a single map.
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Grayhound Gaming16Inferno4Ground Zero Gaming
Grayhound Gaming16Nuke6Ground Zero Gaming
Grayhound GamingMirageGround Zero Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club16Train13Avant Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club16Nuke10Avant Gaming
Chiefs Esports ClubMirageAvant Gaming
Grayhound Gaming16Mirage13Avant Gaming
Grayhound Gaming19Dust II16Avant Gaming
Grayhound GamingOverpassAvant Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club16Dust II8Ground Zero Gaming
Chiefs Esports Club16Nuke8Ground Zero Gaming
Chiefs Esports ClubInfernoGround Zero Gaming
Grayhound Gaming16Mirage11Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound Gaming16Overpass8Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound GamingNukeChiefs Esports Club
Avant Gaming16Nuke9Ground Zero Gaming
Avant Gaming16Inferno10Ground Zero Gaming
Chiefs Esports ClubMirageGround Zero Gaming

Stage 2

PosTeamWLRFRARD
1Grayhound Gaming307349+24
2Chiefs Esports Club216669-3
3ORDER126081-21
4Athletico Esports03000
With Athletico not able to make the Oceania finals, it was a quick group. As expected, Grayhound topped the group and booked a Finals spot without dropping a map as Chiefs and ORDER were sent home.
Oceania qualifier matches
ORDER12Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound GamingWFFAthletico Esports
ORDERWFFAthletico Esports
Grayhound Gaming20Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound Gaming20ORDER
Chiefs Esports ClubWFFAthletico Esports
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
ORDER6Overpass16Chiefs Esports Club
ORDER16Inferno11Chiefs Esports Club
ORDER12Nuke16Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound GamingWMirageFFAthletico Esports
Grayhound GamingWInfernoFFAthletico Esports
Grayhound GamingWNukeFFAthletico Esports
ORDERWFFAthletico Esports
ORDERWFFAthletico Esports
ORDERWFFAthletico Esports
Grayhound Gaming19Dust II17Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound Gaming16Overpass6Chiefs Esports Club
Grayhound GamingNukeChiefs Esports Club
Grayhound Gaming16Train7ORDER
Grayhound Gaming22Overpass19ORDER
Grayhound GamingNukeORDER
Chiefs Esports ClubWFFAthletico Esports
Chiefs Esports ClubWFFAthletico Esports
Chiefs Esports ClubWFFAthletico Esports

Oceania standings

Oceania's final standings are below. The top team moved on to the Finals and qualifies for next season. 2nd to 6th do not qualify for the Finals, but are invited to next season. The bottom two teams will have to play in a relegation phase for a spot in next season. Each team's in-game leader is shown first.

PlaceTeamPrize MoneyRosterCoach
1stGrayhound GamingTBDdexter, DickStacy, Malta, Sico, erkaStNeiL_M
2ndChiefs Esports Club5,500tucks, BL1TZ, Texta, ofnu, zewsyferg
3rdORDER4,500emagine, aliStair, hats, INS, zephElmapuddy
4thAthletico Esports4,000smooth_criminal22, ADK, Dezibel, JD, Teal
5th-6thBreakaway Esports0J1rah, HaZR, Llamas, Noisia, YDNA
Avant Gamingap0c, eLUSIVE, mizu, RaZ, soju_jdayV1D
7th-8thParadox Gaming0Chub, keeyto, Kingfisher, Noobster, Valiance
Ground Zero GamingXtinct, bURNRUOk, MoeycQ, void, Zemp

Finals

The finalized teams are shown below. Each team's HLTV.org ranking for June 17, 2019 – the final rankings before the Finals – is shown next to the team.[5]

Broadcast talent

Desk host

Stage host

Interviewer

Commentators

Analysts

Observers

Group stage

Group A

G2 Esports was barely able to escape a scare from Grayhound Gaming and NRG Esports took down Fnatic in a close map. Astralis continued to roll as it took down the struggling Cloud9 while Heroic took advantage of DETONA Gaming's inexperience to bump the Brazilians down with relative ease. NRG then took down G2 in a very close three game set, with the latter two games going into overtime. Astralis had no trouble taking out its compatriots in Heroic to move on. Grayhound put up a fight against Fnatic, but the Swedes prevailed in the end while Cloud9 had little trouble putting away DETONA. Heroic then eliminated Fnatic in a series that went three games while G2 survived against Cloud9 in two close games. NRG upset Astralis in the winner's finals to top group A and earn a bye for the playoffs. In the loser's side, G2 took down Heroic, with Kenny "kennyS" Schrub leading the way for the French.

Group A matches
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
G2 Esports16Nuke13Grayhound Gaming
Fnatic12Nuke16NRG Esports
Astralis16Inferno9Cloud9
DETONA Gaming8Dust II16Heroic
G2 Esports16Train11NRG Esports
G2 Esports17Dust II19NRG Esports
G2 Esports17Overpass19NRG Esports
Astralis16Vertigo7Heroic
Astralis16Inferno7Heroic
AstralisDust IIHeroic
Grayhound Gaming11Dust II16Fnatic
Grayhound Gaming13Train16Fnatic
Grayhound GamingInfernoFnatic
Cloud916Dust II4DETONA Gaming
Cloud916Mirage9DETONA Gaming
Cloud9InfernoDETONA Gaming
Heroic16Nuke7Fnatic
Heroic12Mirage16Fnatic
Heroic16Overpass6Fnatic
G2 Esports16Inferno12Cloud9
G2 Esports16Overpass13Cloud9
G2 EsportsNukeCloud9
NRG Esports16Train13Astralis
NRG Esports8Nuke16Astralis
NRG Esports16Dust II12Astralis
Heroic3Vertigo16G2 Esports
Heroic3Dust II16G2 Esports
HeroicNukeG2 Esports

Group B

FaZe Clan edged out TyLoo in the group B opener while North upset Team Liquid on Dust II. mousesports continued to look strong with a win over MIBR while HellRaisers made an all European winner's side with a win over Luminosity Gaming. North fought hard, but FaZe managed to take the series over the Danes in a third map overtime victory. mousesports easily took down HellRaisers to set the winner's side. TyLoo could not get anything done against Liquid as the Americans easily moved on while MIBR got revenge against Luminosity. HellRaisers gave Liquid a scare, but Liquid somehow prevailed and came back in the third map from an 11–14 deficit to a 16–14 win. MIBR easily took down North in the first map, but North came back in the second map; in the third map, MIBR had to rally a bit after being down most of the match to secure the series, with heroics from Fernando "fer" Alvarenga. Finn "karrigan" Andersen took out the team that kicked him in FaZe to help mousesports secure the first seed in group B. On the loser's side, Liquid continued to have success against MIBR in two maps to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Group A matches
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
FaZe Clan16Vertigo12TyLoo
North16Dust II13Team Liquid
mousesports16Inferno8MIBR
HellRaisers16Mirage7Luminosity Gaming
TyLoo6Mirage16Team Liquid
TyLoo7Overpass16Team Liquid
TyLooInfernoTeam Liquid
MIBR16Mirage9Luminosity Gaming
MIBR16Dust II13Luminosity Gaming
MIBRTrainLuminosity Gaming
FaZe Clan4Inferno16North
FaZe Clan16Mirage8North
FaZe Clan19Dust II16North
mousesports16Mirage5HellRaisers
mousesports16Nuke5HellRaisers
mousesportsInfernoHellRaisers
HellRaisers11Vertigo16Team Liquid
HellRaisers16Inferno14Team Liquid
HellRaisers14Overpass16Team Liquid
North5Mirage16MIBR
North16Inferno13MIBR
North5Overpass16MIBR
FaZe Clan12Train16mousesports
FaZe Clan12Vertigo16mousesports
FaZe ClanNukemousesports
Team Liquid16Mirage13MIBR
Team Liquid16Dust II9MIBR
Team LiquidVertigoMIBR

Playoffs

Round of 6

Nikola "NiKo" Kovač had a very strong game for FaZe Clan, but the rest of his team could not get anything going, as G2 Esports took advantage of that, led by Lucas "Lucky" Chastang's 21 kills and 6 assists. FaZe's star players Håvard "rain" Nygaard and Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács struggled massively as they had the fewest kills on the server. The second game on Dust II ended in a close first half, with G2 leading 9–6. However, vintage performances from Richard "shox" Papillon and kennyS spurred G2 to running away with the second half and eliminating FaZe.

Astralis versus Team Liquid was the story during Astralis's winning era, as the North Americans almost always failed to crack the Astralis puzzle. After a Danish 12–3 first half, Liquid brought it all the way to 15–12, only to have Astralis close it out and it looked like Astralis was going to run away with it again. However, in the second map, Liquid carried that second half momentum from the first map to a 14–1 first half on the second map, despite Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz's 23 kills to lead the server. Liquid would tie up the series. The third map saw Astralis take an 11–4 halftime lead, but nine unanswered rounds by Liquid suddenly put the Americans up 13–11. Astralis would take two more rounds, but Liquid took out the Danes to headed to the semifinals, as Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski lead the way with 28 kills.

Round of 6 matches
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
FaZe Clan12Train16G2 Esports
FaZe Clan8Dust II16G2 Esports
FaZe ClanInfernoG2 Esports
Astralis16Overpass12Team Liquid
Astralis6Inferno16Team Liquid
Astralis13Vertigo16Team Liquid

Semifinals

The first semifinal match was between NRG, still fielding daps, against G2 Esports, on Dust 2. The French side started out with a dominating 8–1 lead on the T side. However, NRG managed to win the last 6 rounds in the half due to back-to-back 1v1s by Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte to end up with an 8–7 scoreline favoring G2. NRG took the momentum after winning the pistol round on the T side, and ended up taking 4 rounds in a row. However, G2 eventually found their footing on the CT side and the map ended 16–12 for the French side, with kennyS having a great performance of 28 kills. On the second map, Train, NRG had a dominant T-side and ended up continuing this into the 2nd half, despite an Ace by kennyS on the 2nd pistol round. The decider for the series was Overpass. NRG started out 2–0 on their T side, but they ended up not getting much more than that due to some key holds from François "AmaNEk" Delauney and the half ended up 12–3, favouring G2. Despite an effort from NRG in the second half, G2 ended up closing out the series and claiming a spot in the Grand Finals.

The second semifinal match was between Team Liquid, the #1 team in the world at that time, going up against the up-and-coming international roster of Mousesports. Mousesports started out Overpass by chaining some rounds off the back of Finn "karrigan" Andersen's quad-kill on the CT-side. However, Team Liquid would eventually run away with a dominant 10–5 T-half, which included a last second knife kill on the defuser on the last round by Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella. The North American side ended up closing out their map pick quite comfortably at a 16–8 score line. On Nuke, Liquid looked poised to close out the series with a 12–3 CT half, but Mousesports ended up draggin the map to Overtime off of an impressive performance from Özgür "woxic" Eker who managed to keep Mouz in contention with a quad kill. Despite his efforts, Liquid won the map and match in overtime, and advanced to the finals to face G2.

Semifinal Matches
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
NRG Esports12Dust II16G2 Esports
NRG Esports16Train7G2 Esports
NRG Esports10Overpass16G2 Esports
mousesports8Overpass16Team Liquid
mousesports17Nuke19Team Liquid
mousesportsInfernoTeam Liquid

Finals

Semifinal Matches
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
G2 Esports15Dust II19Team Liquid
G2 Esports3Overpass16Team Liquid
G2 Esports16Nuke12Team Liquid
G2 Esports22Inferno25Team Liquid
G2 EsportsVertigoTeam Liquid

Finals standings

Between the end of the regular season and the Finals, a few changes took place.

FaZe Clan replace Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev, who was with FaZe on a trial basis, with legendary Virtus.pro player Filip "NEO" Kubski.[6]

TyLoo release Kevin "xccurate" Susanto from the team and acquire Wing Hei "Freeman" Cheung from ViCi Gaming. TyLoo also signed free agent Zhenghao "DANK1NG" Lv as a sixth player.[7]

compLexity Gaming released Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz from the team. NRG Esports then signed stanislaw to replace Damian "daps" Steele. However, under ESL rules, stanislaw is not able to participate in the Finals since he playing for compLexity during the season, so NRG was forced to use daps for the Finals.[8]

PlaceTeamPrize Money
1stTeam Liquid250,000
2ndG2 Esports110,000
3rd4thmousesports55,000
NRG Esports
5th–6thAstralis32,000
FaZe Clan
7th–8thHeroic24,000
MIBR
9th–12thCloud922,000
Fnatic
HellRaisers
North
13th–16thDETONA Gaming20,000
Grayhound Gaming
Luminosity Gaming
TyLoo

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ESL Pro League Season 9 finals heading to France. Sam. Bishop. Game Reactor. March 21, 2019. March 29, 2019.
  2. Web site: The ESL Pro League moves to offline play ahead of season 9. Jamie. Villanueva. Dot Esports. December 18, 2018. December 26, 2018.
  3. Web site: ESL Pro League Season 9 to Bring New Format and More LAN Events. Noam. Radcliffe. DBLTAP. December 18, 2018. December 26, 2018.
  4. Web site: ESL INTRODUCES OFFLINE PRO LEAGUE GROUP MATCHES IN EU, NA. Zvonimir. Burazin. HLTV.org. December 18, 2018. December 26, 2018.
  5. Web site: CS:GO World Ranking. HLTV.org. June 17, 2019. June 17, 2019.
  6. Web site: NEO reportedly replacing AdreN on FaZe Clan's CS:GO roster. Jamie. Villanueva. Dot Esports. May 12, 2019. June 18, 2019.
  7. Web site: TyLoo add Freeman and DANK1NG. Malav. Popat. Talk Esport. June 6, 2019. June 18, 2019.
  8. Web site: Daps on NRG, tarik and being replaced by stanislaw. Calum. Patterson. Dexerto. June 11, 2019. June 18, 2019.