ENCE and MOUZ both kicked off Group C action with sweeps Wednesday at ESL Pro League Season 16 in Malta.
ENCE produced the day’s most dominant victory by handily beating HEET 2-0, while MOUZ downed Heroic by the same score. In the day’s other Group C clash, Complexity Gaming pulled off a 2-1 comeback win over Astralis.
The $835,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event features 24 teams vying for a $175,000 first prize and a berth in the BLAST Premier World Final. Only the Season 16 champion will clinch a spot in the $1 million Final set for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Pro League teams are divided into four groups for the initial round-robin phase. The four group champions will advance to the playoff quarterfinals, while the teams that come in second and third in each group will move on to the playoffs’ Round of 12.
All matches in the group stage and the playoffs are best-of-three until the best-of-five final on Oct. 2.
Groups A and B have been completed, with the rest of Group C action to be contested daily through Sunday, followed by Group D from Sept. 21-25.
HEET scored the first point of their battle with ENCE, but ENCE rattled off the next 13 en route to a 16-6 win on Dust II. ENCE then shot out to an 8-2 lead and cruised to a 16-11 victory for the sweep. Valdemar Bjorn “valde” Vangsa of Denmark topped the scoring for ENCE with 44 kills and a plus-15 kills-to-deaths differential, as all five ENCE players posted positive K/D ratios.
MOUZ rallied from a 10-6 deficit to beat Heroic 16-14 on Mirage for a 1-0 lead. MOUZ then burst to a 9-0 start on Dust II before claiming the map 16-9. Israel’s Dorian “xertioN” Berman led all players with 48 kills and a plus-12 K/D differential.
Astralis got off to a quick start, claiming their opening map 16-9 on Inferno. Astralis then led 11-6 before Complexity fought back to force overtime on Nuke, eventually winning 25-23 to even the match. Complexity came back again in the decisive map, finishing on a 9-3 run to win 16-11 on Dust II. American Michael “Grim” Wince posted 75 kills and a plus-8 K/D/ ratio for Complexity, while Benjamin “blameF” Bremer had match highs of 80 kills and a plus-22 K/D ratio for Astralis.
Group C action continues Thursday with three matches:
–Astralis vs. MOUZ
–Complexity Gaming vs. HEET
–ENCE vs. Heroic
ESL Pro League Season 16 group standings, with win-loss record, score differential and points:
Group A
1. Team Vitality, 5-0, +40, 15 points
2. Fnatic, 3-2, +36, 9 points
3. Natus Vincere, 3-2, +6, 6 points
4. Team Spirit, 2-3, -9, 6 points
5. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 2-3, -31, 6 points
6. Endpoint, 1-4, -42, 3 points
Group B
1. G2 Esports, 5-0, +73, 15 points
2. FaZe Clan, 4-1, +39, 12 points
3. Outsiders, 3-2, +27, 9 points
4. BIG, 2-3, +3, 6 points
5. MIBR, 1-4, -62, 3 points
6. FTW Esports, 0-5, -80, 0 points
Group C
1. ENCE, 1-0, +15, 3 points
2. MOUZ, 1-0, +9, 3 points
3. Complexity Gaming, 1-0, even, 3 points
4. Astralis, 0-1, even, 0 points
T5. Heroic, 0-1, -9, 0 points
T5. HEET, 0-1, -15, 0 points
Group D
Cloud9
Movistar Riders
Team Liquid
FURIA Esports
Evil Geniuses
Eternal Fire
–Field Level Media