The 14th season of Counter-Strike’s ESL Pro League is finally drawing to a close; groups are now behind us, with 12 of the 24 best CS:GO teams still in the running for a share of the $750,000 prize pool and a spot in the 2021 BLAST Premier: World Final. The play-offs kick off with a Round of 12 on 7 September and will run through to the Grand Final on the 12th.
Join us for a quick groups recap and a preview of upcoming matches in the EPL Season 14 Play-offs.
ESL PRO LEAGUE SEASON 14 — GROUP STAGE RECAP
Groups A and B wrapped up the action on 26 August, with Heroic and Red Bull-sponsored OG leading the standings with Win-Loss scores of 5-0. Team Vitality (4-1) and forZe (4-1) placed second, while ENCE and Complexity Gaming managed to scrape by and secure third place, with three wins and two losses each.
Group C had a few surprising twists, with an incredibly close battle for second and third places. Although favourites Natus Vincere (4-1) top the standings, they were dealt a noticeable 2-0 blow by BIG on the third day of the competition. Hamburg’s mousesports (3-2) pushed through to second place, and Fnatic (3-2) are hot on their heels in third. FaZe Clan (3-2) and BIG (2-3) didn’t make the cut, while NA hopefuls Evil Geniuses were knocked out of the tournament with no wins and five devastating losses.
Group D was just as eventful; leaders Gambit (4-1) would have ended the stage with a clean 5-0 if not for an incredible show of form by Ninjas in Pyjamas (3-2), who nipped the early celebrations in the bud on 5 September — the last-minute 2-0 victory for NiP was enough to push the team through to third place. Team Liquid (4-1) are sitting between the two challengers in a well-deserved second place.
Team Entropiq (2-3) and FURIA (2-3) had a decent showing but were no match for the group’s heavy hitters, ending their run in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Team One leave the competition without tasting victory but stood their ground valiantly — we’re eager to see what the Brazilian team has in store for the fans next season.
GROUP STANDINGS
Final standings for first, second and third place, respectively:
Group A — Heroic, Team Vitality and ENCE.
Group B — OG, forZe and Complexity Gaming.
Group C — Natus Vincere, mousesports and Fnatic.
Group D — Gambit Esports, Team Liquid and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
EPL S14 PLAY-OFFS FORMAT
➤ The second and third-place teams advanced to the Round of 12, while first-place teams take a breather and regroup in the quarter-finals. The play-offs begin on 7 September with a Round of 12, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Grand Final.
Format
- No Play-in stage.
- Single-elimination bracket.
- All matches are Bo3 except the Grand Final, which is Bo5.
Schedule
Play-offs — 7-12 September
Grand Final — 12 September
EPL SEASON 14 — PLAY-OFFS — CS:GO BETTING
Round of 12 kicks off at 16:00 CEST (BST+1), with mousesports at 11/12 (1.92) going up against Ninjas in Pyjamas at 11/12 (1.95). The winners will advance to the quarter-finals and face OG.
Complexity Gaming are at 33/20 (2.65) to win against Team Vitality, who are favourites to take the match at 1/2 (1.50); the victor will go up against Gambit.
On 8 September, CIS go-getters forZe will be vying for a quarter-finals spot in a match against Finland’s ENCE. The Russians are at 11/12 (1.92) to take the lead, while the Finns stand at 9/10 (1.90) to turn the tides in their favour. The winner of this matchup will have to pull out all the stops in the quarter-finals — they’re will face the #1 Natus Vincere.
Heroic’s quarter-finals opponent will be decided in the last matchup of the stage. NA favourites Team Liquid, at 1/2 (1.50) to win, face UK’s Fnatic, who are at 8/5 (2.60) to advance to the next stage.
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*Odds subject to change. Odds correct at time of publishing.