Movistar Riders will replace TheMongolz at ESL Challenger Melbourne

The Mongolian CS:GO team TheMongolz has withdrawn from the ESL Challenger tournament in Australia, set to take place shortly before the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

ESL, known for organizing CS:GO tournaments in Australia, will soon host another event in the country. The organizer has now announced the groups for the ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023, which will be held in the Australian coastal city from April 28 – 30.

Reason for TheMongolz’s withdrawal unknown

ESL also announced the withdrawal of team TheMongolz, who will be replaced by Movistar Riders in the $100,000 tournament.

While no reason was given for TheMongolz’s withdrawal, it may have to do with their upcoming campaign at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, which begins on May 8. The Mongolian quintet earned a spot at the recent CS:GO Major after taking second place at the Asia RMR, where they defeated Rare Atom in the lower bracket decider.

ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023

ESL Challenger is a circuit of second-tier teams that have the opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage while competing for a place in the ESL Pro League — one of the prestigious ESL competitions.

Last year, two Brazilian teams made it to the finals at ESL Melbourne: Imperial Esports and paiN Gaming. While Imperial Esports were able to win the series, FalleN and his team earned a place in the EPL Conference.

Like ESL Melbourne 2022, this year’s event will feature eight teams in a battle for a chunk of the $100,000 prize pool and will reward the winners with a ticket to the ESL Pro League Conference Season 18.

Groups line-up

Complexity come as the favorite of Group A, coming in 15th in the world rankings and as Contender in the Paris Major. The next favorite in Group A are Grayhound, the highest-ranked team in Australia, earning their spot at the event thanks to their ESL World Rankings.

In Group B, Bad News Eagles are the top squad. The Kosovo outfit are certainly determined to prove themselves at the event after securing a spot on the BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends Stage.

Movistar Riders, the replacement for TheMongolz, are also in Group B and will be undoubtedly aiming for some wins in Australia to regain their confidence after an underwhelming performance in 2023: their record so far this year is 8:15.

The groups for the ESL Challenger Melbourne are as follows:

Group A

• Complexity
• Grayhound
• EG Black
• ECSTATIC

Group B

• Bad News Eagles
• Movistar Riders
• Rare Atom
• VERTEX

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