The ESL One: New York is halfway done with the Group Stage so now it is a good time to look back and see how the tournament has been progressing.
Group A recap
Group A of the ESL tournament saw some surprises as the event started. The opening match of the tournament was between NaVi and Gambit. The Russo-Ukrainian team came hot off the FACEIT Major, where they placed second in the Finals, and were mostly expected to triumph over Gambit. Yet, in a surprising turn of events, Gambit took the first map 16 – 4, dominating NaVi throughout the matchup. Still, NaVi were not done and managed to come out ahead on Inferno, though not without serious resistance from Gambit.
The third and final game was played on Overpass, where Gambit dominated in the first half. The second half saw NaVi taking the mid-game, but Gambit turned it around and secured the final rounds needed to win the map. Throughout the matchup, Gambit’s Dosia and Hobbit were unstoppable, coming out miles ahead of everyone else in terms of statistics.
Mousesports and Fnatic had a greatly contested matchup, at least for the first two games. The initial map was taken by Fnatic 16 – 12, while the second game went into overtime only for Mousesports to secure the win at 19 – 16. Somewhat anticlimactically, Mousesports crushed Fnatic in the third game, closing it at 16 – 3, for what would be the quickest game in the series so far.
This left Gambit and Mousesports as the leading teams in Group A and they will settle the score in the Winners Match later today. As far as the losing teams are concerned, NaVi had to go up against Fnatic to remain in the tournament. The Elimination Match was not as exciting as one would expect, considering the stakes. NaVi dominated Fnatic in both maps, winning 16 – 7 and 16 – 8 on Inferno and Mirage, respectively.
Catching up with @EdwardCSGOD as they've eliminated @FNATIC from #ESLOne. pic.twitter.com/5qqlcYwTmy
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Group B recap
Group B has only had two matches since the tournament began, but they were certainly worth seeing. FaZe Clan and G2 Esports were the first to compete in this group. The first game was played on Inferno – G2’s pick. For the first half, it was anyone’s game, with both teams taking rounds left and right. It finished at 8 – 7 for FaZe, but things changed in the second half. G2 really stepped up their game once they came over to the CT side and only dropped 5 rounds to FaZe. They closed the map at 16 – 12.
The second map was Mirage, picked by FaZe, and the team really felt at home here. Whereas before they had issues against G2, the Mirage game saw FaZe dominate thoroughly. They concluded the match at 16 – 5, barely leaving G2 room the breathe.
The third map was Cache and it the result of the match rested on the edge of a knife. Initially, G2 picked up the lead on the T side, concluding the first half 10 – 5. Things looked similar in the second half as well, with G2 picking up the first three rounds, but once FaZe were able to purchase proper equipment, the pendulum quickly swung in their favor. Nine rounds were taken by FaZe in the second half and they nearly managed to win the game. However, by the end, G2 were able to steal the last two, closing the game at 16 – 14.
It's over! @G2esports take Cache 16-14 vs. @FaZeClan and win the series 2-1 👈 #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/xxtxHsEgtw
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 26, 2018
Finally, Team Liquid went up against NRG and the two teams more than put up a show. The first map had to go into overtime and NRG just barely avoided another tie by taking the final overtime round and finishing the map at 19 – 17. Still, Team Liquid were determined to make the best of this and the Dust 2 game saw their determination pull through. Despite strong resistance from NRG, Liquid put them down at 16 – 10. NRG’s initial momentum was gone by this point and the Mirage game made that clear. Team Liquid came down hard on their opponent, crushing them 16 – 4 and claiming the win.
ESL One: New York continues
While the games already played were more than great, we still have more to look forward to. Later today, two Winners matches will take place – Gambit Esports vs Mousesports and G2 vs Team Liquid. The loser of the Gambit vs Mousesports game will face NaVi in a Decider Match, where the winner will get to advance in the tournament.
Furthermore, FaZe Clan will go up against NRG in an Elimination Match in order to remain in the event. The winner of that match will play against the loser of the G2 vs Team Liquid game to advance to the Playoffs.
