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Heroic delivered a dominant performance against Virtus.pro in a two-map series at ESL Pro League Season 20, winning 13-8 on Ancient and 13-6 on Dust2 to eliminate the Russian team from the tournament.
This victory propels Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and co. into the playoffs, where they will face MIBR in the next round.
The win marks a significant boost for Heroic, who have struggled with form recently.
After a poor showing at IEM Cologne due to visa issues with Abdul “degster” Gasanov and a last-place finish at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade, the Counter-Strike team appears to have found stability in Malta.
A quick 2-0 from @heroicgg against @virtuspro sees them start their #ESLProLeague S20 Playoffs campaign with a W
13-8 Ancient
13-6 Dust 2 pic.twitter.com/qJwSkoEUz7— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 17, 2024
“It feels way better,” said Rasmus “sjuush” Beck in a post-match interview, expressing relief over their improved coordination.
On the flip side, this defeat is another blow to Virtus.pro, who have been in a slump since adding Denis “electroNic” Sharipov to their roster.
Despite managing wins over Team Falcons, FURIA Esports, and RED Canids to reach the playoffs, their lacklustre terrorist-side performances against Heroic—scoring just four rounds across both maps—underscored their ongoing struggles.
The match began on Ancient, where Heroic rallied from an early deficit to lead 5-2, only for Virtus.pro to recover and hold a slim lead at halftime.
However, Heroic came out strong in the second half, converting key clutches, including a 2v4 and two 1v2s from NertZ and sjuush, to secure a 13-8 win.
On Dust2, Heroic dominated, building a 9-3 lead by halftime and closing out the series 13-6, with standout performances from sjuush and Guy “NertZ” Iluz.
Both Mirage and the series belong to @1mongolz! 💪
They eliminate @BIGCLANgg from #ESLProLeague XX with a 2-1 series victory!
Ancient 22-19
Nuke 11-13
Mirage 9-13 pic.twitter.com/EW7pYIBvrx— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 17, 2024
In another ESL Pro League playoff match, The MongolZ pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory over BIG.
The series went to triple overtime on Ancient, with BIG narrowly taking the map 22-19, thanks to a quad-kill from Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz.
However, The MongolZ bounced back, winning 13-11 on Nuke and 13-9 on Mirage to progress to the second round.
They will face Eternal Fire next, a team they previously defeated at the IEM Cologne Play-in.
Meanwhile, Team Spirit knocked out FURIA Esports with a 2-0 victory (13-9 Nuke, 13-11 Anubis).
FURIA showed improvement from their last meeting at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade but couldn’t overcome Spirit’s solid defensive play, particularly from Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov and Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov.
Spirit advances to face Imperial Esports in the next round.
.@Team__Spirit knock @FURIA out of the #ESLProLeague S20 Playoffs with a 2-0 victory 💪
13-9 Nuke
13-11 Anubis pic.twitter.com/H6sqUWVxes— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 17, 2024
Finally, Complexity’s core roster earned their first-ever victory over FaZe Clan, winning 2-0 (13-10, 13-9) in a decisive series.
They took down FaZe on Anubis and Dust2, despite standout performances from Robin “ropz” Kool.
Complexity’s game plan, spearheaded by Johnny “JT” Theodosiou and coach Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen, neutralised FaZe’s usual unpredictability.
EliGE commented post-match that FaZe lacked their trademark confidence and individual flair.
Complexity’s impressive team play, anchored by Ricky “floppy” Kemery and Michael “Grim” Wince, was crucial to their win.
They now face Team Liquid next, with G2 waiting in the quarterfinals.
FaZe, despite their efforts, have now exited five events in a row at the first stage of the playoffs, continuing a frustrating run for the team.
.@ComplexityCS HAVE DONE IT!
They defeat @FaZeEsports 2-0 on their way to the next round of the #ESLProLeague XX Playoffs 🙌
13-10 Anubis
13-9 Dust 2 pic.twitter.com/lfBrvQNCIc— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 17, 2024
