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Elisa Masters Espoo 2022 Playoffs preview

Elisa Masters Espoo 2022 has advanced to the playoff round, where the six qualified teams will face off against... Shubh | 18. November 2022

Elisa Masters Espoo 2022 has advanced to the playoff round, where the six qualified teams will face off against one another in a furious battle for a share of the $200,000 prize pool.

Six CS:GO teams have qualified for The Elisa Masters Espoo playoffs after enduring utterly chaotic matches in the group stage. The remaining six teams will now compete in a knockout bracket for a prize fund of $100,000 and more importantly a berth in the IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In. We have already seen many interesting matches on the group stage, and the excitement and thrill will only increase as we move toward the playoffs. Here is a brief preview of the upcoming playoff action based on the team’s performance in the event.

Astralis will take on ENCE

Despite not playing with the CS:GO sensation Nicolai “⁠device⁠” Reedtz that nearly every fan on the planet was hoping for, Astralis got off to a terrific start in the competition by defeating SAW and Bad News Eagles. However, despite a good start, the team faltered against the European powerhouse Fnatic and the Bulgarian team 500. The Danish team had high expectations from their rifleman Benjamin “blameF” Bremer, and he in no way fell short of their expectations or those of the fans.

With an average HLTV rating of 1.40, the 25-year-old not only assisted his team in making the playoffs but also took the top spot on the tournament leaderboard. ENCE, on the hand, placed second after securing four victories in the group stage against BIG, HEET, GamersLegion, and HAVU Gaming. The Finnish team nearly missed out on the semifinal seed due to their comparatively poor performance against Sprout. However, they seem to be in excellent shape, and the quarterfinal match will undoubtedly be a thrilling CS: GO duel.

BIG will face 500 

The all-Bulgarian roster of 500 shocked the spectators with their brilliant performance on the group stage, where they took down big names like Astralis, Bad New Eagles, and Complexity. With a 4-1 record into the playoffs, the club has a lot of momentum, thus BIG won’t have an easy time defeating them. After easily defeating HEET, Sprout, and HAVU, BIG, on the other hand, struggled in their subsequent clash. Since three of the all-Bulgarian roster are now ranked in the top ten in the HLTV standings, compared to just one of BIG, 500 appears to have an advantage against BIG based on their past performance.

Fnatic and Sprout await their opponents in the semifinals 

The winners of each group, Fnatic and Sprout will play their respective semifinals on Saturday. Both teams performed admirably during the group stage, and they are likely to keep dominating during the playoffs as well. Unexpectedly, Fnatic lost their only game against Complexity Gaming, and Sprout lost their sole game to the German squad BIG. With the exception of their lone loss, the teams are as formidable as ever and will aim to advance to the finals by outlasting their rivals on November 19.

Header: PGL