ESL Pro League S18: Monte and MOUZ advance to Mid Bracket Quarterfinals

After knowing the first two playoff qualifiers from Group B of the ESL Pro League S18, ENCE, and BIG, we enjoyed two very interesting series at the beginning of the Mid Bracket.

We are discussing Monte’s 2-1 win over Rooster and MOUZ’s 2-0 win over Evil Geniuses. As a result, Monte and MOUZ remain with 2 lives left in this ESL Pro League S18 and advance to the Quarterfinals of the Mid Bracket.

On the other hand, Rooster and EG will have their last chance to stay alive in the tournament in the Lower Bracket in a match that will be played next Saturday, September 9, 2023.

Let’s see what happened in the ESL Pro League S18 Group B Mid Bracket matches.

Monte Esports apply a reverse sweep against Rooster

There is no doubt that Monte was the clear favorite to win this series against Rooster, but no one thought they would have to come from behind after losing the first match. However, the Australian squad showed great determination and came very close to surprising everyone by sending Monte to the Lower Bracket.

It all started in Nuke, the map pick of the Australian squad, where we saw a very good game from Rooster and a very bad one from Monte. In the first half, things were very balanced, as Rooster took a close partial victory by 8-7. Then, at the change of sides, Monte’s offense was to forget, as they failed to win more than 1 round and, consequently, fell with a terrible score of 8-16.

Then, the teams moved to Anubis, Monte’s map pick, where things changed radically. On this map, Monte brought out a great defense in the first half to prevent Rooster from using the momentum and confidence to win the first map, and they took a narrow 8-7 victory. However, this time, the Ukrainian offense woke up, and in what a way, they managed to win 8 of the 11 rounds that were played to take the victory by 16-10 and even the series 1-1.

Another 16-10 for Monte

Finally, the teams met in Mirage, the decider map of this BO3. Monte again struck first in the first half by taking a 9-6 partial victory. Then, at the change of sides, Rooster tried to wake up by winning the first 3 rounds and scoring 9-9. However, this was not enough as Monte won 7 of the next 8 rounds to seal the 16-10 victory.

The reverse sweep from @Monte_Esports to secure a 2-1 victory over @RoosterCS 👏

8-16 Nuke
16-10 Anubis
16-10 Mirage#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/ezbH2MSmxM

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 7, 2023

MOUZ pass the steamroller over Evil Geniuses

Finally, the match between MOUZ and EG looked entertaining and certainly similar to what we observed in Group B. However, MOUZ took the baton from the beginning, and they managed to apply a clean sweep and went through the steamroller over Evil Geniuses.

The series started at Ancient the map pick of Evil Geniuses, where we observed a good level from both teams on their CT side. MOUZ took a solid 10-5 partial victory in the first half. Then, at the change of sides, the North American squad responded on their TC side, and, with a score of 10-5, they sent the map to Overtime. Finally, after only 4 rounds in OT, MOUZ took the win by 19-15 and thus went ahead in the series by 1-0.

Then, the teams moved to Inferno, MOUZ’s map pick, where we observed a really intense and exciting match for the second consecutive map. However, this time, the European team prevailed over the North American team to win by 16-13. MOUZ struck the first blow in the first half with a partial 10-5 on their side T. Then, at the change of sides, EG tried to wake up, as they did in Ancient, but this attempt allowed them to win only 13 rounds, as MOUZ secured their victory by 16-13.

.@mousesports fend off @EGCSGO with a close 2-0 victory to remain in the lower bracket.

19-15 Ancient
16-13 Inferno#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/8nnIgVuWku

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 7, 2023

Header: ESL