Group D matches of the ESL Pro League Season 14 ended a few days ago. Today, the CS.MONEY Blog takes a look at the expectations from the teams and whether the clubs lived up to these expectations.
Gambit’s stability
Expectations. During their vacation, some Gambit players stayed in shape and frequently streamed FPL games. There were no bad rumors about the team, and analysts were convinced that the Russian-Kazakh squad would make it out of the group with first place — and without much trouble too.
Reality. Gambit completely lived up to the expectations of both fans and experts. The squad annihilated TeamOne, FURIA, and their own compatriots from Entropiq. Defeating Liquid was a marathon task for the club though: at one point, they were close to a 0–2 defeat. But then they pulled off a victory in overtime on the second map, Vertigo, with a score of 19–16. Afterwards, they displayed an excellent defense on Mirage and won it as well (16–12), ending the match 2–1 in their favor. The last match cut no ice for Gambit and they lost it to NIP without even putting up that much of a fight. In any event, the club’s performance was generally quite impressive.
Liquid & their success in spite of rumors
Expectations. Shortly before the beginning of ESL Pro League Season 14, there were rumors about Michael “Grim” Wince leaving the team due to his underperformance. The media also wrote that Marcelo “coldzera” David would join the team before the tournament.
It’s almost impossible to imagine where a reshuffle before the start of an event has a positive effect on a team’s performance. Even if it happens to a team of individually strong performers — just like Liquid.
Reality. The club ignored all those “messages from insiders.” After a hard-fought loss to Gambit, Liquid defeated Entropiq, NIP, and TeamOne without too much effort. In the last match, Liquid beat FURIA after a number of overtimes on the third map. Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Keith “NAF” Markovic were the best players on their team in the group stage. In addition to good individual shape, Liquid’s showed a variety of rounds as T, which definitely helped them reach the playoffs.
NIP & their luck
Expectations. After NIP signed Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, they were expected to show great results. Though ESL Pro League S14 Group D matches were scheduled for early September, all NIP players got together for a picnic and then for a full-fledged bootcamp back in early August. This approach shows just how intense the squad’s preparations for the event were.
Both experts and fans were eager to see NIP with dev1ce in action. And not only in the group stage but also in the playoffs — everything testified to this scenario being more than likely.
Reality. Despite their long training sessions, NIP lost not only to the mighty Liquid but also to the Brazilians from FURIA. On top of that, a match against the unstoppable Gambit was looming on the horizon — the play-off spot was slipping away. Still, luck and circumstances played in the hands of NIP.
The last match barely mattered for Gambit, which, in theory, might have influenced its outcome — NIP won it 2–0. They destroyed Gambit on Inferno with a score of 16–6. The second reason that helped NIP to rank third in the group was Liquid’s victory over FURIA in the last round.
With Ninjas now in the playoffs, the bare minimum has been fulfilled. However, you can’t count on luck in the top-12 stage — the team will totally have to bring their A-Game to succeed.
Entropiq’s frustrating failure
Expectations. Entropiq has established itself in Europe as a solid middleweight team. Analyst Arseniy “ceh9” Trynozhenko expected all teams from the CIS to advance from the group. He also thought that Entropiq may even prevent one of the top teams from making it to the playoffs. However, few analysts shared Arseniy’s opinion and were very pragmatic about the whole situation — they didn’t expect to see Entropiq in the top-12.
Reality. The team showed decent performance against all of their opponents. On many of the lost maps, their enemies’ advantage didn’t exceed 3 or 4 rounds. In some moments, they simply lacked a bit of luck. But despite the seemingly unsatisfactory result, they demonstrated great play as well as an ability to prepare for big matches versus strong teams.
FURIA’s experiment gone wrong
Expectations. FURIA’s 16th place in the HLTV.org rankings was not a convincing fact for the analysts to expect them to reach the playoffs. Before the tournament, the media reported discord within the team. Lucas honda Cano was benched — rumors had it, it was due to a conflict between the rest of the team and the newcomer. As a result, team coach Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira was forced to become the fifth player at the ESL Pro League. Guerri’s experience and tactical savvy were definitely an advantage, but the team objectively lost firepower. Many analysts predicted their drop from the group. Some of them even saw FURIA finishing last in Group D.
Reality. After they beat TeamOne and NIP, FURIA lost the rest of the matches, albeit they did invest effort. The coach guerri’s individual play was very poor, but good tactical preparation allowed the team to win crucial rounds and make their opponents struggle. While the team did have a chance to get out of the group, Team Liquid’s comeback from a score of 15–11 put an end to FURIA’s efforts. Still, the tenacity the Brazilians displayed when they fought for each round is truly laudable. Too bad this remarkable team will be absent from the playoffs this time.
TeamOne’s expected last place
Expectations. The South Americans looked good at the local level in North America, yet analysts realized that their poor individual performance and rather weak tactical training would keep the roster from putting up a fight against the world’s best teams. TeamOne was considered extras at the event.
Reality. No miracle happened. Despite the strong play from Guatemalan Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa, TeamOne didn’t manage to win a single map in the group. Still, credit where credit is due: victory was pretty close on many maps. Even the mighty Gambit and FURIA beat TeamOne on Mirage only with a score of 16–14, which proves the team’s ability to prepare for big matches. Who knows — perhaps the team will be able to convert this priceless experience into progress and prove themselves in future competitions.
The group stage of ESL Pro League Season 14 is over. The playoff games have already started, and we’re looking forward to the outcome. Will we see two CIS teams in the final? Will NAVI be able to win the tournament and thus conquer the Grand Slam? And how will the story around HUNDEN and ESIC investigations affect Heroic’s performance and their further fate? We’ll find out the answers to these questions very soon. Follow the CS.MONEY Blog to stay in the know about the developments and results of ESL Pro League Season 14 and other events!
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