Esports News: Sweeps and Heartbreak at ESL One Belo Horizonte
Today was a day of sweeps and heartbreak for Brazilian fans at ESL One Belo Horizonte.
FaZe Clan defeated Team Liquid in the first game, while Mouz emerged victorious against SK Gaming. Unfortunately for Brazilian supporters, their hopes of a home soil victory were shattered as SK Gaming and Team Liquid, including Epitacio “TACO” de Melo, were eliminated from the tournament.
Related: SK and Liquid survive elimination at ESL One Belo Horizonte
FaZe Clan vs. Team Liquid
In their first match against Liquid, FaZe Clan dominated on Nuke, winning with a score of 16-3. Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovacs showcased an impressive one-vs-three clutch. Liquid put up a stronger fight on Dust II, with the score at the half being 10-5 in FaZe’s favor. However, FaZe made a comeback and reached series point at 14-13. It was Epitacio “TACO” de Melo who saved Liquid’s tournament chances with crucial opening CT kills in two consecutive rounds, securing a 16-14 victory for Liquid and forcing a decider on Mirage. The final match was completely one-sided, with FaZe dominating Liquid 16-7. GuardiaN finished as the top fragger with 22 kills per map and an outstanding average damage per round of 99.9.
SK Gaming vs. Mousesports
With the backing of the Brazilian crowd, SK Gaming could not capitalize on the energy and secure consistent round wins on Dust II. Mousesports took advantage and won convincingly with a score of 16-7. However, SK Gaming’s CT side on Train disrupted Mousesports’ momentum. Despite losing the second pistol round, the European side fought back from an 11-5 deficit, bringing the score to 12-11. Mousesports managed to reset SK late into the game and eventually closed out the series with a 16-12 victory. Chris “chrisJ” de Jong and stand-in Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert were the top performers for Mousesports in both maps, with kill averages of 23 and 21, respectively.
The grand final between FaZe and Mousesports, which will be a best-of-five series, is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:30pm CT. In their last three offline matchups against Mousesports, FaZe has emerged victorious on all three occasions—at the ECS Season Four Finals, the ELEAGUE Boston Major, and the ESL Pro League Season Seven Finals.
ESL One Belo Horizonte, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, SK Gaming, Mousesports, Brazilian fans, tournament, sweeps, heartbreak, home soil victory, Nuke, Dust II, Mirage, grand final, best-of-five series, ECS Season Four Finals, ELEAGUE Boston Major, ESL Pro League Season Seven Finals.