The 20th season of the ESL Pro League served as a significant preparatory phase for the fall part of the season. Ahead, we still have the Perfect World Shanghai Major, as well as the final tournaments in the BLAST Premier series. The league stretched over nearly a month, posing an additional challenge for teams: maintaining top form over such a long period is not always easy.

This makes it all the more remarkable that the grand final featured two teams from Group A, which started their journey earlier than the others. Natus Vincere and Eternal Fire took different paths after battling for first and second place in the group stage.

esl pro league s20 playoffsImage: liquipedia.com

The current Natus Vincere roster is met with mixed opinions. On the one hand, the team managed to overcome the loss of s1mple, with their coach building a well-functioning system that relies less on individual play and more on team chemistry. On the other hand, despite securing several trophies, they still aren't considered the top favorites.

For Natus Vincere, the ESL Pro League marked another step toward gaining wider recognition. They had a flawless group stage without losing a single map, followed by a playoff run where they defeated Team Spirit and G2 Esports.

Eternal Fire, meanwhile, has long been considered a tier 1.5 team. XANTARES continues to be the driving force, remaining the Turkish CS star for many years. In Malta, the team had a breakout performance, reaching the finals and putting up a tough fight against NAVI. The final went to five maps, but the Ukrainian club ultimately came out on top, winning $170,000.

Next week, most of the strongest teams will move to Copenhagen to play in the BLAST Premier Fall Final.

Main image: x.com

Comment on this