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Outsiders and Cloud9 will clash in the upper-bracket final to decide the winner of Group A in ESL Pro League Season 17, after strong performances against Fnatic and G2 Esports on Thursday.
Outsiders, the world number seven, dominated their side of the bracket by recording back-to-back 2-0 victories against IHC and Fnatic on their way to the upper-bracket final.
Outsiders show their strength!
They take down @FNATIC 2-0, securing a spot in the UB Finals of Group A 🙌
16-14 Inferno
16-12 Vertigo#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/8jytvEBak9— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 23, 2023
Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev was a force to be reckoned with in both of their opening matches, recording a 1.30 rating against IHC, then backing it up with a massive 1.50 rating against Fnatic.
As usual, in-game leader Dzhami “Jame” Ali made the right calls at the right time and was a close second in the ratings behind his rifler.
Outsiders will now clash with Cloud9, which has come as a bit of a shock to many in the Counter-Strike community, with G2 Esports falling to the world number 13 in quick time.
The second of the upper-bracket semifinals saw Cloud9 end G2 Esports’ 16-series win streak as they dispatched of the world number one and reigning IEM Katowice champions in two maps (16-6, 16-12).
IT IS OVER! 🤯@C9CSGO have done it! They take down @G2esports with a clean 2-0
16-6 Vertigo
16-12 Inferno#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/NbCfWSXGMQ— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 23, 2023
Cloud9’s sniper and best player Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov continued his dominance in the 17th season of the ESL Pro League, carrying his team to another series win with another high-class performance.
Sh1ro finished the G2 series with a huge 1.83 rating and a +38 kill/death differential, which was 26 more than any other player in the server, taking his average rating from two series to 1.77.
Coming off a dominant 2-0 victory over Evil Geniuses in their opening series, Cloud9 look as though they have been working hard behind the scenes to try and avenge their dismal straight-sets knockout at IEM Katowice earlier in the month.
Not only did G2’s loss end their 16-game win streak, it also saw them drop into the lower bracket, leaving them to battle it out with MiBR on Friday to make the lower-bracket final and take on either Fnatic or Eternal Fire for third position in Group A.
The two matches that will be played on Friday are listed below, with odds courtesy of BetOnline.
- Fnatic (-200) vs Eternal Fire (+150) on February 24 @ 4pm CET
- MIBR (+750) vs G2 Esports (-2000) on February 24 @ 7:30pm CET
