ESL Challenger Katowice got here to a exciting end on June 11, as Virtus.seasoned rose above the opposition to boost the coveted trophy, take home $50,000 of the $100,000 overall prize pool, and earn a niche in the approaching ESL Pro League (EPL) Season 18!
ESL Challenger affords an possibility for growing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) groups to show themselves and climb the ladder in the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) for CS:GO to in the long run attain the top. As the event made its manner to the Polish metropolis of Katowice – an area that has solidified its function as a breeding floor for brand spanking new champions for over a decade – it became a awesome second for Virtus.seasoned to emerge victorious.
This weekend became full of many thrilling moments as 8 groups confronted off in ESL Challenger Katowice. After a ideal overall performance in Group A, Virtus.seasoned became the primary crew to verify their spot withinside the Playoffs, accompanied with the aid of using ENCE, 9z, and FORZE. Continuing their dominating streak, Virtus.seasoned secured their spot withinside the Grand Final after a 2-zero win towards 9z, at the same time as ENCE effects stepped forward after a 2-zero win over FORZE withinside the different Semi-very last matchup.
After 3 exciting maps of the Grand Final and each groups showcasing their abilties and determination, Virtus.seasoned dominated over the reigning Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Dallas 2023 Champions ENCE and controlled to stable a hard-fought victory with a 2-1 score.
By prevailing ESL Challenger Katowice, Virtus.seasoned has now certified for the subsequent season of EPL, which is about to take vicinity in Malta, starting on August 30 and strolling for 5 weeks till October 1. The event will see 32 of the world’s quality CS:GO groups pit towards each other to in the long run stable the coveted title, the lion’s percentage of the $850,000 prize pool, and a win withinside the Intel® Grand Slam V race.
This is what the contemporary line-up for EPL Season 18 appears like:
- Astralis (Partner crew)
- BIG (Partner crew)
- Complexity (Partner crew)
- ENCE (Partner crew)
- Evil Geniuses (Partner crew)
- FaZe Clan (Partner crew)
- Fnatic (Partner crew)
- FURIA (Partner crew)
- G2 Esports (Partner crew)
- Heroic (Partner crew)
- MOUZ (Partner crew)
- Natus Vincere (Partner crew)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (Partner crew)
- Team Liquid (Partner crew)
- Team Vitality (Partner crew)
- Movistar Riders (Qualified through ESL Challenger Melbourne)
- Virtus.seasoned (Qualified through ESL Challenger Katowice)
- Monte (Qualified through ECL S44 EU)
- MIBR (Qualified through ECL S44 NA)
- Lynn Vision (Qualified through ECL S44 Asia)
- Apeks (Qualified through ECL S45 EU)
- ATK (Qualified through ECL S45 NA)
- Rare Atom (Qualified through ECL S45 Asia)
- The final 9 groups will qualify through ESL National Championships (4 groups), their spot withinside the ESL World Ranking (3 groups), or nearby qualifiers ( groups).