Chaotic Season 5 for North American Teams in ESL Pro League
The playoffs of Season 5 of the ESL Pro League have been unpredictable and challenging for middle-tier North American teams vying for a spot in the finals.
OpTic Gaming, Luminosity Gaming, and Team Liquid battled it out in their final day of contention for seeding rights leading up to the Dallas-held finals, starting on May 31. In a decisive match, Liquid secured their ticket to Dallas by defeating Luminosity 16-11 on Mirage and 16-12 on Inferno. Meanwhile, OpTic won their match against compLexity Gaming, with a 16-7 victory on Train, securing their place in the LAN finals with a 14-10 record. In the event of a tie between Luminosity and OpTic, Luminosity would have taken OpTic’s sixth seed due to their higher round wins in their previous matchup (23-22).
In a separate battle, Immortals, Cloud9, and NRG Esports fought for improved seeding. Immortals secured third place with a 2-0 win against Misfits. Cloud9 and NRG tied with a 1-1 map score, but NRG gained a higher seed due to their higher round wins against Cloud9 in their matchup (16-10 on Inferno and 17-19 on Train, totaling a 33-29 difference).
Despite losing two matches to CLG, SK Gaming maintained their number one seed, demonstrating their dominance throughout the entire season.
To secure a playoff spot in Dallas, CLG had to win both their matches against SK Gaming and avoid tying with Luminosity and OpTic. Unfortunately, CLG lost 0-2 to both opponents, resulting in them missing out on a playoff spot.
The groups for the ESL Pro League Season 5 Finals are yet to be determined. Casters speculate that the groups will consist of teams from both regions, with the first, third, and fifth seeds of one region mixed with the second, fourth, and sixth seeds of the opposing region.
The Dallas playoffs will take place from May 31 to June 4 at the Verizon Theatre.
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