Although the 11th season of the EPL was held in an online format for a well-known reason (hi Mr. COVID-19), we saw an incredible battle! For example, in the European region, there were 4 teams competing for the three-team playoffs until the last game day, while there were 5 outcome scenarios as total, depending on the last matches’ results.
For those who participated in our prediction contest, the results of the tournament are especially important.
For the sake of interest, CS. MONEY also made a prediction for the ESL Pro League.
We will tell you who we chose and why. By the way, we hit not 100%, and you?
Europe
Playoffs prediction
Mousesports
Initially, houzsports (do not forget to follow the trends) looked like the strongest team in Group C. We did not suffer much at all and picked the three strongest teams (in our opinion) in each of the groups of the first stage.
Yes, everything could have turned upside down in the second stage, but … Let’s come back to mousesports.
The team reached its peak form by the end of last year, and despite the New Year’s pause, “Mice” continued to play well in 2020. However, after winning the ICE Challenge, mouz misfired at IEM Katowice and took only 7-8 place, but we decided that it was worth choosing the European team.
Karrigan&friends are the guys who were the least affected by the transition to online (for this reason, we did not choose, for example, Na`Vi or Complexity, typical LAN-teams).
The first stage went smoothly: mousesports finished first in their group, losing only one match to OG. The second stage started well for them, with three wins in a row, but then suddenly… Mousesports lost the next two matches and reached the playoffs only by additional indicators, overcoming Natus Vincere by the difference of rounds won.
Fnatic
The Swedes just did not start EPL S11 well (which did not prevent them from winning the tournament, yeah). When you lose BIG in the opening match, it leads to a variety of different, but not particularly optimistic thoughts. Group B turned out to be very tight: 3 teams finished it with a score of 3-2, and 3 more – with a score of 2-3. And the Swedish team itself achieved this score hardly: the victories over North and ForZe were extremely difficult.
By the second stage, Fnatic performed much better and in an even more serious fight (the Swedes played the most rounds in the second group stage) got a ticket to the Grand final from the first place!
Astralis
Astralis are the most controversial guys of the top scene in CS:GO for several months now. Another triumph at the StarLadder Berlin Major, and then they had shown weakness. What can we say more if “Red Stars” lost the top-1 position in HLTV-ranking!
Astralis, as usual, are going through hard times between majors, but we took the risk and believed in the guys.
And we were right! Having started the second group stage with a score of 0-2, Astralis amazingly entered the playoffs with three consecutive wins. And in the last match against mousesports, the Danes let their opponent win only 4 rounds in the whole best of 3.
Winner
Mousesports
Well… Almost! Mousesports played a disgusting final against Fnatic. Yes, the match was close and beautiful. It gave us a lot of highlights and intense fights, but Mousesports made so many bad moves and they didn’t seem confident.
They fall on Nuke, they lost Overpass… And the culmination of all this was the Mirage.
But this is not only a loss to Mousesports, but also a well-deserved victory for Fnatic – Brollan made a great performance, and flusha’s knives kills became the cherry on the cake of the final match.
Outcome: 3/3 playoffs teams & we didn’t guess the winner.
America
Playoffs prediction
Liquid
With America’s playoff predictions, everything should have been easier. It would seem that such a thing? It is much easier to guess 4 teams out of 6 than 3 out of 18.
But this is where we made a mistake, which is doubly offensive.
At least not Liquid failed their run. “Horses” took the first place in the group by the difference of rounds.
In America, everything turned out hard: 3 teams finished the group with a score of 3-2, the remaining three-2-3. Everything was decided by additional indicators.
The top moment of the group stage with Liquid was their loss to the Swole Patrol team with a score of 0-2. That’s the thing we didn’t expect.
100Thieves
Here they are, The guys who broke American region playoff prediction, ha-ha. We are sure that it was a short moment of weakness by them and 100 Thieves will come back stronger. Due to the result of the match versus MIBR (0-2), 100 Thieves did not reach the crucial stage. They started the group with two wins in a row for the 100T, and ended with complete collapse.
Evil Geniuses
EG were one of the main favorites of the group along with Liquid and 100T, and it would be a very stupid move not to choose them. The “evil geniuses” took their three matches and came out of first place on additional indicators.
FURIA
FURIA did not fail. We didn’t really believe in MIBR, who went through the playoffs with a score of 2-3, and still lost to the same “Panthers” in the first game of the playoffs.
But in the end, it was not Made in Brazil that failed.
For FURIA Esports, this event was very successful: the guys not only performed well in the group but also made their presence vs. EG in the playoffs. Yes, they lost 0-2, but in a hard fight. They just didn’t have enough tactical flexibility and, sometimes they lacked luck.
Winner
Liquid
Of Course, Liquid. Here we guessed correctly – “Horses” reached the Grand final through the top grid and got an advantage of one card in the best of 5, and closed Evil Geniuses with a final score of 3-0.
Outcome: 3/4 playoffs teams & we guessed the winner.
Total outcome: 6/7 playoffs teams guessed & 1/2 winners. 7/9 teams guessed as total.
