The first tournament for NAVI after the major and a chance for Team Liquid. Preview of Groups C and D at ESL Pro League Season 19
The group stage of ESL Pro League Season 19 has reached the halfway point. Groups A and B have already given us sensations in the form of the passage of 3DMAX and TheMongolz, and also from second places. They can be discussed for quite a long time: the matches turned out to be spectacular and worth attention, but for now it’s worth concentrating on the upcoming meetings in the two remaining groups. In them we will see the winners of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – Natus Vincere, the updated GamerLegion and FURIA, as well as FORZE with a stand-in in the person of Owen smooya Butterfield. In this article we will discuss everything that can be expected from groups C and D at ESL Pro League Season 19, and also determine which teams will receive the last slots in the playoffs.
Participants in Group C will be MOUZ, Bad News Kangaroos, ENCE, GamerLegion, FURIA, Team Liquid, FORZE and Monte, and Group D will feature Complexity, PERA, Ninjas in Pyjamas, HEROIC, BIG, BOSS, FlyQuest and Natus Vincere.
Group C
The main favorite in Group C is MOUZ. At IEM Chengdu 2024, the team gave their best and managed to reach the grand finals. There was no chance to win it yet, but the meeting with FaZe Clan became important for the development of the roster, which previously could not win a single map in the playoffs on the LAN. He is still very young and is just learning from his mistakes. Defeat in the grand final certainly shouldn’t have a negative impact on the team, but only encourage them to train even harder. In the first match, MOUZ should easily deal with the little-known Australian squad Bad News Kangaroos, who have not yet competed at a major tournament. Next, the opponent will be more difficult: ENCE or GamerLegion. But both teams are experiencing great difficulties and failed at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: defeating them should not be something difficult for MOUZ.
The weakness of ENCE and GamerLegion will also have a positive impact on the performance of Team Liquid, which finally found its game at IEM Chengdu 2024. Сasper cadiaN Meller’s roster did not manage to get far into the playoffs, but at least he got into it, after several failures at the most important tournaments. Team Liquid should definitely make it to the playoffs: the first two opponents will become simple rivals on the way to the finals of the upper bracket. First, Liquid will have to meet with the updated FURIA roster, which has lost its captain Andrei arT Piovezan. He was replaced in the lineup by Kayke kye Bertolucci from the club’s academy, and Gabriel FalleN Toledo became the new leader. Next, Team Liquid will have a match with the winner of the FORZE vs Monte pair, which will also be an easy walk for the team. It is unlikely that it will be possible to beat MOUZ, so the team will finish the group in second place.
Considering the replacements from FURIA, GamerLegion and FORZE, ENCE and Monte will compete for the last two slots. The roster of Lukas gla1ve Rossander cannot yet reach a stable level and could not get into the playoffs of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, but time passes and the results should improve, because the team has an extremely experienced captain who knows how to build efficient squads around him. After the major, the team had to work on their mistakes and solve their problems, and they could prove this already at ESL Pro League Season 19. Their first opponent would be GamerLegion, which, after an unsuccessful performance at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, radically changed the roster, getting rid of two key players – Nicolas Keoz Dgus and Frederik acoR Gyldstrand. They were replaced by unknown Andreas aNdu Maasing from the club’s academy and Henrich sl3nd Hevesi from Endpoint. This match will be an excellent starting point for ENCE’s return to the tier-1 stage.
Monte, after all the changes in the lineup, are starting to take shape and have the best chance among all the remaining outsiders in Group C. The first opponent of the roster will be the mix assembled by FORZE to participate in ESL Pro League Season 19. It even included Owen smooya Butterfield, who has long been did not perform on the professional stage. The team hardly had time to train before the tournament and will not be able to compete with the experienced core of Monte. However, the team’s future path will be difficult and, most likely, it will only qualify for the playoffs through the Last Chance Stage.
Group D
The undisputed favorite in the last group is the winners of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – Natus Vincere. ESL Pro League Season 19 is the first tournament for the team after the triumph at the championship from Valve. The team had a long rest, which can have both positive and negative effects. Before the start of the group, it is difficult to say in what form the team will fit, but they definitely plan to consolidate their success and continue to show decent performances. The team was definitely lucky with the seeding; besides them, there are no other favorites in Group D, which means that it will have time to get into tournament shape and play out. Anyone who watched the last major has no doubt that Natus Vincere will take first place in the group.
The team’s debut opponent will be FlyQuest. The Australians have imposed a serious fight on the favorites of IEM Chengdu 2024 and will definitely continue to grow, but they are unlikely to be able to cope with the champions of the major. Next, to reach the playoffs, NAVI will need to deal with the winner of the BIG vs BOSS pair: neither of the pair of teams is a worthy opponent for the team. Even if the roster of Justinas jL Lekavicius fails to win the final of the upper bracket, he will already take part in the final stage of ESL Pro League Season 19, but this match should not pose any difficulties for Natus Vincere.
After NAVI, HEROIC looks like the strongest team in Group D. After updating the roster, the club is already ranked ninth in the HLTV ratings and has performed well on several major LANs. Another plus in favor of HEROIC will be their first opponent – Ninjas in Pyjamas, who did not make it to ESL Pro League Season 19 in full force. NIP key player Fredrik REZ Sterner will miss the tournament due to illness, and will be replaced by Kacper xKacpersky Gabara from the club’s academy. In the current realities, the team did not look like a strong opponent and capable of winning on the tier-1 stage, and the loss of such a player would be a fatal blow for it. HEROIC has a good chance of making it to the finals of the upper bracket, but they are unlikely to be able to cope with NAVI.
ESL Pro League Season 19 may be the last tournament for Complexity with this lineup. If the roster does not show a decent level, reshuffles will definitely await it. After the transfer of Jonathan EliGE Jablonowski, the club initially showed good results in some matches, but they did not lead to any significant achievements. The team definitely discussed their future and if they managed to come to some kind of decision, they have a chance to return to the top and reach the EPL playoffs, but it definitely won’t be easy. After the first match with PERA, the team expects a difficult journey through the lower bracket, but, nevertheless, it can cope with this task. The competition could be the updated BIG lineup, from which you don’t know what to expect, but it’s hard to believe in the success of this team.
The Australians from FlyQuest must also advance to the playoffs from Group D. The former Grayhound began to play even better after the loss of their previous organization and clearly intend to prove to the new club that the management made the right choice. At their first tournament under the FlyQuest tag, the team phenomenally beat Cloud9 and was able to take the map from Virtus.pro. The team’s passage to the playoffs is possible, but most likely only through the Last Chance Stage.
There is very little left until the final of the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 19. After the completion of groups C and D, we will find out all the teams that will join Astralis, 3DMAX, FaZe Clan, Virtus.pro, Team Vitality, TheMongolz, BetBoom Team and G2 Esports in the race for the trophy. The tournament is already giving pleasant emotions and unexpected sensations, but in the playoffs everything will be even more interesting.
Final forecast for groups C and D within ESL Pro League Season 19:
Group C:
- MOUZ;
- Team Liquid;
- ENCE;
- Monte.
Group D:
- Natus Vincere;
- HEROIC;
- Complexity;
- FlyQuest.