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Astralis’ struggles continued at ESL Pro League Season 20 as Complexity sent them to the Last Chance Stage in a scrappy series.
Both teams faced challenges, but Complexity’s individual prowess carried them over the line in overtime on Vertigo (19-17) and Inferno (16-14).
Complexity now faces Imperial Esports, while Astralis battles Rooster to stay alive in the Counter-Strike 2 tournament.
Despite rebuilding their roster after failing to qualify for the PGL Major Copenhagen, Astralis has seen their form decline since notable top-four finishes at IEM Chengdu and ESL Pro League Season 19.
Their recent loss to Fnatic in the EPL opener left them hoping for a rebound against a struggling Complexity.
However, Astralis fell short, with star AWPer Nicolai “device” Reedtz underperforming, leading to an apology on social media.
Not the best time to be on SoMe, but anyways want to give some insight to the fans.
Really disappointed with myself these last 2 games, not only as the awp but also IGLing.
Doing my best to bounce back I assure you 😔— Nicolai Reedtz (@dev1ce) September 11, 2024
Poor offensive play and bizarre mid-round decisions added to their woes.
Complexity, though far from perfect, edged out Astralis thanks to standout performances from Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli.
While Complexity may not take much pride in barely defeating an out-of-form Astralis, their better gun round performance on Inferno and individual firepower got the job done.
🇧🇷🇧🇷 @imperialesports ARE IN THE #ESLProLeague XX PLAYOFFS 🇧🇷🇧🇷@vini @felperaa @nowayzao@decentycs @TRYZSE1@zakkcs pic.twitter.com/oj06PR67Mj
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 11, 2024
MOUZ also saw disappointment in their ESL Pro League campaign, losing to Imperial in overtime on Dust2 (16-14) and Inferno (16-13).
Despite being ranked No. 1 earlier this year and having a strong season, MOUZ faltered, with players like Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin struggling significantly, posting just six kills on Inferno.
Imperial capitalised on MOUZ’s mistakes, with standout performances from Lucas “decenty” Bacelar and João “felps” Vasconcellos, advancing them to a seeding match.
#ESLProLeague XX Playoffs secured for @M80gg! 💪 pic.twitter.com/d4rsL4y3KM
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 11, 2024
M80 made headlines with a record-breaking 71-round match against fnatic on Anubis, the longest Counter-Strike 2 map on HLTV.
M80 won the epic battle in octuple overtime (37-34) before also taking Inferno in extra time (16-13).
Their victory secured a playoff spot and marked a breakthrough for North American CS, making them the first NA team outside Complexity and Liquid to reach Big Event playoffs since 2019.
Thursday’s ESL Pro League matches
- ATOX Esports (+550) vs Team Falcons (-1000) @ 1:30pm CEST
- Team Liquid (-175.44) vs Virtus.pro (+125) @ 1:30pm CEST
- ENCE (-138.89) vs RED Canids (+100) @ 4:30pm CEST
- Team Vitality (-625) vs FURIA Esports (+350) @ 4:30pm CEST
- Complexity (+200) vs MOUZ (-277.78) @ 7:30pm CEST
- BIG (+100) vs Fnatic (-133.33) @ 7:30pm CEST
