Cloud9 - Contenders For the Championship, the Return Of American CS - Group D Results of ESL Pro League

Group D matches at the ESL Pro League have ended, three teams have reached the playoffs, and now you can look at the results and statistics, to sum up the group. Were there any championship contenders in Group D?

Movistar Riders

The Spanish team got a predictable result. The team changed its lineup during the Player Break. Star sniper SunPayus left the team, and it destroyed the team. This often happens with national teams because it is challenging to find another Spaniard of the SunPayus level. The result was predictable also because, after the replacement of Movistar Riders, they failed at tier-2 tournaments and failed to qualify for the European RMR. Unfortunately, Movistar Riders are far from the tier-1 teams, and soon, we will no longer see this club in major tournaments. The Spaniards managed to win only one map and finished the tournament with an average rating of 5.4.

Eternal Fire

The performance of Eternal Fire can be considered successful. The team also changed the composition during the Player Break. In this case, the changes were beneficial. The team signed IGL in the form of MAJ3R, and Efire's play really improved. The club won two matches out of five and showed that they could fight against tier-1 teams, which brings Eternal Fire to tier-1.5. Despite dropping out of fifth place, their performance was highly worthy. XANTARES performed incredibly well, finishing in the top 3 of the group stage with an average rating of 6.9, and the team's average score was 6.

Evil Geniuses

For an organization like EG, being eliminated in the group stage is not a good result. However, it is impossible not to notice that the American team began to perform better than in the year's first half. For the entire first half of 2022, Evil Geniuses had no success at all. The team lost match after match not only to tier-1 teams but to tier-2 and tier-3 teams. Now the structure began to appear in the game of the Americans. Evil Geniuses won two matches almost without problems. Of course, they still fall short of Liquid, Cloud9 and FURIA, however, perhaps it's a matter of time, and EG may return to tier-1 CS very soon. The team's average rating was 5.8.

Liquid

Liquid did not perform as brightly as expected. After BLAST Premier Fall Groups, it seemed that the new roster could move mountains and win against the best teams in the world. However, the team still has problems with stability. Liquid lost the Movistar Riders map and the Eternal Fire match, which is not in line with their current shape. Because of this, the team could have been eliminated at the group stage, but the team managed to brace up and beat Cloud9 2-0 on the last day. Liquid is a great team that can beat the best clubs in the world, but they still lack consistency. YEKINDAR is still the team's best individual player, with an average rating of 6.8, and Liquid finished the group stage with a 6.1 rating.

FURIA

FURIA showed an extremely predictable result. The only surprise was the victory against Liquid, which few expected. This match determined FURIA's second place in Group D. The Brazilians are consistently in the top 10 teams in the world. Still, even after such a good performance, they cannot be called contenders for the ESL Pro League championship. They can do well in the playoffs but are unlikely to take the trophy. The average FURIA rating in the group stage was 6.2, with KSCERATO having the highest score, who became the MVP of the group with an average rating of 7.4.

Cloud9

Cloud9 made a triumphant comeback after the Player Break. The team has not changed its composition for two years and performs at a high level. The CIS team lost only to Liquid, but this match meant nothing for the club, so it cannot be considered indicative. Otherwise, Cloud9 did not lose a single map and showed a championship game. Therefore, the CIS team is a clear contender for the championship and can be expected in the final. The team's average rating for five matches was 6.4.

Outcome

Group D ended predictably. Cloud9 showed an excellent game and became one of the main favourites of the ESL Pro League. Liquid and FURIA can also perform decently in the playoffs if they show their best game.