With 32 groups now simply whittled down to 2, ESL Professional League Season 18 is ready to return to an finish. We’ve seen clutches galore, with loads of the most effective gamers on the earth placing on a present for the prospect to elevate the ultimate CS:GO trophy ever.
Now, it’s MOUZ and NAVI who sit one best-of-five match away from greatness. Let’s preview the Grand Last, to see who’ll come out on prime!
NAVI’s Deep Run
Credit score: ESLCS on Twitter
We’d be mendacity if we instructed you NAVI had confronted actual adversity within the lead-up to the ESL Professional League Finals. It’s been the run of desires for the worldwide roster, culminating of their place within the Grand Last right here. They’re but to drop a single map all match, with the group proving adept at turning doubters into believers.
NAVI have gained ESL Professional League simply as soon as earlier than: in 2021’s Season 14. That was again within the Boombl4, electroNic, and Perfecto days. In the event that they have been to repeat the feat, it could be a different-looking roster this time round.
Credit score: Adam Lakomy | © ESL
What’s most spectacular about NAVI in the meanwhile is the shortage of clear weaknesses. Whereas NAVI jL didn’t precisely cowl himself in glory throughout the Semi-Finals, he’s been a reliable performer all through ESL Professional League Season 18, and we’d again him to seek out kind as soon as extra. Lastly, iM appears at residence, who earlier than appeared like a sq. peg in a spherical gap at NAVI. Aleksib is masterminding some unimaginable CS from his group, with b1t seemingly capable of clutch from any state of affairs. And s1mple? Properly, he’s simply being s1mple.
So long as NAVI keep on observe, they need to have sufficient to beat the ESL Professional League Finals.
MOUZ Taking Scalps
Credit score: ESLCS on Twitter
All the best way from EPL Season 18 Group B, MOUZ have fought each step of the best way for his or her place within the ESL Professional League Season 18 Grand Last. In our Semi-Final preview, we identified among the scalps they’ve taken alongside the best way. Heroic, FURIA, FaZe, G2. Now, add ENCE to that listing. This younger group takes no prisoners on the server.
It simply appears that momentum is with MOUZ. IGL siuhy is asking some masterful T-sides, and particular person brilliance from his quartet of xertioN, torzsi, Jimpphat, and frozen is sufficient to see them over the road on CT.
Credit score: Igor Bezborov | © ESL
It’s simple to neglect as they’re all younger, however MOUZ even have an ESL Professional League winner of their ranks. Again in 2019, frozen gained Season 10 of the match with MOUZ when he was simply 17 years outdated. NAVI have winners of their very own, after all, however you’ll be able to’t low cost the worth of that have. How becoming it could be for Jimpphat to get his first Tier-1 match victory on the identical age.
On paper, NAVI have the standard. However the storyline of the subsequent nice CS2 group closing out CS:GO with an ESL Professional League Season 18 victory is simply too nice for us to not root for.
