ESL Pro League S17: 00 Nation eliminate Grayhound

After defeating Grayhound 2-1 in the lower-bracket semifinal, 00NATION is one victory away from securing a spot in the ESL Pro League Season 17 playoffs.

With an overtime victory on Inferno and a confident showing on Mirag, Marcelo “⁠coldzera⁠” David and company eliminated the Australian side from the Maltese event. After the victory, 00NATION moved on to play Ninjas in Pyjamas in the lower-bracket final where a playoff spot would be at stake. Here is a quick recap of the match:

Inferno

00 Nation established a foothold on the attack at the onset of Inferno, with a four-round spree following a pistol-round victory. That advantage, however, was swiftly lost as Grayhound took control of the situation on the back of their in-game leader Joshua “INS” Potter’s fragging prowess.

The rest of the first half was spent in a back-and-forth struggle between the two sides. However, the Brazilian team struggled to consistently secure bomb sites, which allowed Grayhound to eke out a slim 8-7 advantage going into the break.

As soon as they exchanged sides, the Australian team slowed down and lost three straight rounds before picking up their game and seizing control once again with a 15-12 advantage. But 00 Nation swiftly fired back with a spirited three-round run to send the game into overtime. Coldzera and company kept the ball rolling in the OT, snatching a thrilling 18-16 victory to get the pressure factor working in their favor on subsequent maps.

Ancient

Grayhound, however, did better on their opponent’s map pick, Ancient, taking control of an early brawl to establish an early 8-5 lead. Following the side switch, the Australian team continued to have the upper hand by putting together three more rounds to extend their lead to 11-7.

As the match was slipping away, the Brazillians turned the tides and cut the deficit to only one point thanks to Lucas “nqz” Soares’s brilliant performance. However, the Australians put together a well-executed T-side to secure five consecutive rounds and send the series to a decider.

Mirage

00 Nation got off to a flying start on the final map of the series, pulling off the pistol rounds followed by a strong showing in the subsequent rounds to jump out to a comfortable 3-0 advantage on the CT side.

After failing to capitalize on the momentum, the Brazillians lost the lead to Grayhound, who continued the relentless counterattack until they had a 7-4 lead. To close out the half, the Brazilian team won four rounds in a row, earning themselves a slim one-round lead going into the T-side.

After switching these sides Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer and ⁠coldzera⁠ put all doubts to rest, securing eight of the ten rounds in the second half to close out the map with a 16-4 victory. Dumau topped the kill chart with 27 kills, followed by two-time Major champion coldzera with 25 kills.

Joao Ferreira/PGL Esports