After an action-packed fourth day in the ESL Pro League S17, Brazil’s paiN Gaming became the third team to qualify for the Group C playoffs. On the other hand, NiP managed to send OG Esports home by defeating them in the Lower Bracket semifinals.
We have enjoyed a spectacular Group C, where every team works their butts off to qualify for the playoffs. This time, the Brazilians made it through against all odds to join FaZe Clan and Team Vitality as the qualifiers for this group.
1 spot remains in the #ESLProLeague Season 17 Playoff Stage from Group C.
Who do you think will be joining @TeamVitality, @FaZeClan and @paiNGamingBR? 😬 pic.twitter.com/QZ9vEo6OtF
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
paiN Gaming qualifies by beating Grayhound
As mentioned, the Brazilians managed to have a spectacular series against Grayhound and took a 1-2 victory with a reverse sweep to qualify for the ESL Pro League S17 playoffs.
The Mid Bracket Final was played at Inferno (Grayhound), Nuke (paiN Gaming), and Anubis (decisive).
Inferno
Simon “Sico” Williams had one of the most spectacular maps in his entire career as a professional in a tournament at the highest competitive level. The Australian charged his team to a 16-7 victory and finished with exceptional stats of 100.5 ADR and a 1.67 Rating, according to HLTV. While the team was always on top of the Brazilians, and everyone contributed a little something to the victory, Sico was phenomenal in each of his bouts.
.@grayhoundgaming win their own map pick of Inferno 16-7 🙌
Will @paiNGamingBR have an answer on map 2?
Nuke is coming up next!#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/v3RS718kvY
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Nuke
After seeing the first map, everything seemed to indicate that the Australians had found a way to hurt paiN in this series. However, the Brazilians responded immediately, and with the help of Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt, they managed to put an end to Grayhound’s hopes on this second map.
The first half ended with an even 8-7 in favor of the Australians on the CT side. But, on their side, T could not make more than four rounds thanks to the spectacular defense deployed by the Brazilians and ended up falling with a score of 12-16.
We are in need of a decider 🙏@paiNGamingBR tie the series by winning Nuke 16-12 against @grayhoundgaming
The winner of Anubis will advance to the #ESLProLeague Playoff Stage!! 👀 pic.twitter.com/C9wAza5aDU
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Anubis
We come to the one that defines it all, the third and last map, Anubis. But, first, we must highlight that paiN Gaming surprised everyone by winning 11 rounds on the T-side, of which six of them were followed by two consecutive rounds won by Grayhound.
In the second half, Felipe “skullz” Medeiros put on his team’s #10 jersey and, with 113.3 ADR and an impressive 2.06 Rating, led paiN Gaming to the 16-12 victory to become the third-place finisher in Group C.
The Brazilians are going to the playoffs! 🇧🇷@paiNGamingBR prevail on the final map to take the series 2-1 over @grayhoundgaming 💪
7-16 Inferno
16-12 Nuke
16-12 Anubis#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/w8rzHNLekM— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
With a reverse sweep, 00 Nation stays alive in ESL Pro League S17
The other Brazilian team in this Group C, 00 Nation, also applied a reverse sweep to take the victory over Rooster and continue with hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.
The series was played at Anubis (Rooster), Inferno (00 Nation), and Mirage (decisive).
Anubis
Rooster always showed why Anubis was their Mappick in this series, as they achieved an extraordinary victory in the first half, 12-3 of the T-Side. This left the Brazilians in intensive care, and they had to win 13 rounds to turn the score around and take the victory. Finally, this did not happen, and Rooster won the first four rounds of the second half to take the map with a score of 16-3.
🐓🇦🇺🐓🇦🇺🐓🇦🇺@RoosterCS pick up their FIRST map win of #ESLProLeague on Anubis 16-3 over @zerozeronation
Inferno is coming up next! pic.twitter.com/YandaQ1b80
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Inferno
In Inferno, the story was going to be the same, as Rooster started as a real beast overwhelming the Brazilians who could not find a way to stop the advances of the Australians. Unfortunately, the first half ended again with a crushing score of 12-3 in favor of Rooster, which left them just four rounds away from victory.
However, the Brazilians woke up thanks to Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer on the T-side to take the victory after winning nine consecutive rounds and thus forcing the third and decisive map.
The Brazilians complete the comeback 😲@zerozeronation from 3-12 down, win Inferno 16-14 over @RoosterCS, tying the series!
This match will be decided on MIRAGE 👀#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/9ouX1FzPGV
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Mirage
The third map was heart-stopping and exciting, just as a decisive map deserves in such an instance. 00 Nation started winning nine rounds of the CT Side on Mirage, which gave them the confidence they didn’t have in the series’ first two games. Marcelo “coldzera” David finally woke up and helped his team to go to the side change with this three-round lead.
INSANE Opening round from @coldzera 🔥#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/YpdrQjrhaG
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
In the second half, Bruno “latto” Rebelatto wreaked havoc with Rooster’s defense to win the remaining seven rounds and take the victory with an excellent score of 16-12.
At this moment, 00 Nation is playing against Grayhound to fight with NiP for fourth place in the ESL Pro League S17 Group C playoffs.
THE REVERSE SWEEP 🧹@zerozeronation manage to close out the series 2-1 and eliminate @RoosterCS from #ESLProLeague S17!
3-16 Anubis
16-14 Inferno
16-12 Mirage pic.twitter.com/jBnYLJ6qLY— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
NiP crushes OG Esports and sends them home
NiP, who came into the Lower Bracket of Group C with a big blow after losing unexpectedly to Grayhound in the Mid Bracket, managed to turn their situation around and crushed OG Esports in the Lower Bracket semifinals.
The series was played at Vertigo (NiP) and Mirage (OG Esports).
Vertigo
OG Esports took the initiative in Vertigo, and they took advantage of how strong the CT side was on this map to go ahead in the first half with a score of 10-5. However, NiP showed why Vertigo was their selection for the first map, as with ten consecutive rounds won on the CT side, they managed to take an extraordinary 16-11 victory. In addition, niP showed a truly spectacular collective game with four of their five players with over 1.40 Ratings.
.@NIPCS only drop 1 round on their CT-side to close out Vertigo 16-11 😳
Will @OGcsgo be able to answer back on their own map pick of Mirage? It's coming up next!#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/ncuv2K9Bi8
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Mirage
We lived an exact match in Mirage for NiP to take the victory and continue with life in this ESL Pro League S17.
OG Esports started with an excellent first half on the T side with a partial victory of 9-6. However, NiP applied exactly the same dose in the second half and sent the match to Overtime after an extraordinary 15-15.
We are going to OVERTIME 💪@NIPCS 15:15 @OGcsgo#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/szrhrEsNxN
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
Finally, in the Overtime, it was NiP that, after a tireless battle, managed to take the victory 22-18 to be seeded in the grand final of the Lower Bracket and play the pass to the playoffs against the winner between 00 Nation and Grayhound.
.@NIPCS win the final map in double OT to close out the series 2-0 and eliminate @OGcsgo from #ESLProLeague S17!
16-11 Vertigo
22-18 Mirage pic.twitter.com/Po79pvqOkj— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2023
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