ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1

The ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 was the first season of the ESL ESEA Pro League . It opened on May 4, 2015 with the game between Titan eSports and Team Dignitas and ended with the final game of the offline playoffs on July 5, 2015. In this game, the Swedish lineup from fnatic beat the US team Cloud 9 by. The participants from both divisions were all invited.

mode

In the ESL ESEA Pro League , twelve teams from Europe and America each play against each other in the continental league in a double round robin system. The last-placed teams in both leagues are relegated to the second-class ESEA Premier League . The tenth and eleventh placed of both divisions fight with the second and third placed of the second class league in a relegation to stay in the ESL ESEA Pro League . All matches in the league phase are played in best-of-one mode. There are no ties, which means that in the event of a tie, the game is extended by six rounds until a winner is found. The winner of a match receives three points, the loser none. If two teams are tied, the higher number of rounds won decides. However, this rule is lifted if one of the two teams was able to win both direct duels.

The four best teams from both continents are invited to the LAN finals. There, after 13 games, the champions of a season have been determined. The participating eight teams are initially divided into two groups A and B. The winner of each group goes straight to the semi-finals. The second and third placed in both groups reach the quarter-finals; the last placed is eliminated. All matches in the group stage are played in the best-of-one.

Pattern for a group:

	Semifinals					Group victory game
	Match 1
		First place in League A
		Fourth placed League B				Match 3
							Winner Match 1
	Match 2						Winner Match 2
		Third placed league A.
		Runner-up League B
						Game for group place 3
						Match 4
							Loser Match 1
							Loser Match 2

The loser in the game for group victory is runner-up in the group and plays in the quarter-finals against the third-placed player in the other group. From the quarter-finals onwards, a winner will be found through the knockout system . The quarter-finals and the semi-finals are played in best-of-three, while the final is played in best-of-five mode. As in the league phase, the offline finals will be extended by six rounds in the event of a tie.

EU division

The field of participants in the European division consisted of twelve teams, which had previously distinguished themselves in the major tournaments . Fnatic won the battle for first place in the table . The Swedes had to make do with substitute players for some games, as regular Olof “olofm” Kajbjer was out due to an ear operation. In addition to fnatic, Virtus.pro , Team SoloMid and Team EnVyUs reached the offline finals. In the lower half of the table, two German teams were represented with mousesports and PENTA Sports . Both organizations changed their lineups shortly before the start of the season, which meant that both teams were not yet played in the first games. Although mousesports turned out to be competitive in the course of the league, the mouses had to be satisfied with a relegation place. PENTA Sports was also able to secure the second relegation place despite only two wins and three missed games and beat Flipsid3 Tactics behind them. Without their top player Alexander "s1mple" Kostylev, who was banned from any ESL tournaments, the Ukrainian lineup fell well short of their expectations and was relegated at the end of the season.

table

ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 EU Professional Division
Disciplines	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
winner	fnatic
organizer	Electronic Sports League , E-Sports Entertainment Association
venue	On-line
Participating clans	12
Beginning	May 4, 2015
final	June 24, 2015
Prize pool	$ 125,000
Games	132

rank	team	Sp.	S.	N	R +	R-	Diff.	Points	Prize money
01.	fnatic	22nd	17th	5	325	177	+148	51	$ 18,000
02.	Virtus.pro	22nd	17th	5	329	251	+ 078	51	$ 16,500
03.	Team SoloMid	22nd	16	6th	319	248	+ 071	48	$ 15,000
04th	Team EnVyUs	22nd	16	6th	312	215	+ 097	48	$ 13,500
05.	Ninjas in pajamas	22nd	14th	8th	292	261	+ 031	42	$ 13,000
06th	HellRaisers	22nd	12	10	317	297	+ 020	36	$ 11,500
07th	Natus Vincere	22nd	11	11	300	268	+ 032	33	$ 10,000
08th.	Team Dignitas	22nd	9	13	247	282	- 035	27	0$ 8,500
09.	Titan eSports	22nd	9	13	262	294	- 032	27	0$ 7,000
10.	mousesports	22nd	7th	15th	239	299	- 060	21st	0$ 5,500
11.	PENTA Sports	22nd	2	20th	166	340	−174	6th	0$ 4,000
12.	Flipsid3 Tactics	22nd	2	20th	154	330	−176	6th	0$ 2,500

	Qualification for the offline finals
	Participation in the relegation games
	Relegated to the Premier League

Crosstab

EU League

1.

fnatic

16:13

15:19

5:16

16: 4

16: 4

16: 9

16: 6

16: 1

16: 6

16: 3

16: 6

2.

Virtus.pro

2:16

10:16

11:16

16: 3

22:19

16: 8

16: 0 1

16: 7

16: 8

16:10

16:14

3.

Team SoloMid

6:16

9:16

13:16

16: 3

19:16

16: 9

16:13

12:16

13:16

16: 3

16:10

4th

Team EnVyUs

5:16

19:15

16:19

5:16

16: 3

16:12

16: 8

16: 1

10:16

16: 7

16: 4

5.

Ninjas in pajamas

16:11

11:16

4:16

16: 3

13:16

14:16

16:10

16: 8

16:10

16: 8

16: 6

6th

HellRaisers

16: 7

12:16

12:16

14:16

19:16

16:10

16: 5

14:16

16: 9

16:10

16: 7

7th

Natus Vincere

12:16

6:16

14:16

16:14

14:16

16:19

16: 7

19:16

16: 4

16: 3

16: 0 1

8th.

Team Dignitas

1:16

13:16

8:16

2:16

13:16

16:13

12:16

16: 6

16: 9

16:14

16: 6

9.

Titan eSports

19:15

10:16

16: 1

13:16

14:16

10:16

16:11

8:16

8:16

16:14

16: 5

10.

mousesports

7:16

14:16

10:16

0:16 1

10:16

16:12

14:16

6:16

16:13

10:16

10:16

11.

PENTA Sports

0:16 1

9:16

8:16

6:16

7:16

14:16

0:16 1

11:16

5:16

2:16

16:10

12.

Flipsid3 Tactics

6:16

10:16

1:16

2:16

11:16

11:16

5:16

1:16

6:16

1:16

16: 0 1

NA Division

The supposedly weaker North American league was occupied by a few teams that had previously only appeared at smaller events and were open to reinforcements from the rest of the world. The Swedish player Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi , who was not under contract with any of the major teams in Europe, managed to find a new home at Luminosity Gaming . With Keyd Stars from Brazil, a whole team moved to North America in the run-up to the tournament. Both Luminosity Gaming and Keyd Stars made it into the finals alongside the often dominant lineup of Cloud 9 and Counter Logic Gaming . The teams Method and mouseSpaz were able to save themselves in the relegation; the Canadian Ace Gaming team was relegated.

table

ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 NA Professional Division
Disciplines	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
winner	Cloud 9
organizer	Electronic Sports League , E-Sports Entertainment Association
venue	On-line
Participating clans	12
Beginning	May 4, 2015
final	June 22, 2015
Prize pool	$ 125,000
Games	132

rank	team	Sp.	S.	N	R +	R-	Diff.	Points	Prize money
01.	Cloud 9	22nd	19th	3	334	214	+120	57	$ 18,000
02.	Keyd stars	22nd	17th	5	347	272	+ 075	51	$ 16,500
03.	Luminosity Gaming	22nd	16	6th	345	257	+ 088	48	$ 15,000
04th	Counter Logic Gaming	22nd	14th	8th	333	253	+ 080	42	$ 13,500
05.	Team Liquid	22nd	14th	8th	311	245	+ 066	42	$ 13,000
06th	Nihilum	22nd	13	9	292	293	- 100	39	$ 11,500
07th	eLevate 3	22nd	11	11	311	291	+ 020	33	$ 10,000
08th.	Tempo Storm	22nd	10	12	272	277	- 5th00	30th	0$ 8,500
09.	affNity	22nd	8th	14th	260	293	- 033	24	0$ 7,000
10.	Method	22nd	6th	16	256	316	- 060	18th	0$ 5,500
11.	mouseSpaz	22nd	2	20th	186	342	−156	6th	0$ 4,000
12.	Ace Gaming	22nd	2	20th	145	339	−194	6th	0$ 2,500

	Qualification for the offline finals
	Participation in the relegation games
	Relegated to the Premier League
	Team withdrew

Crosstab

NA League

1.

Cloud 9

16:12

16: 5

16:13

16: 4

16:12

19:17

16:11

16: 8

16:12

16: 4

16: 0 1

2.

Keyd stars

16: 6

31:27

16:12

13:16

16: 8

16:11

16: 8

16:12

16:19

16: 5

16:11

3.

Luminosity Gaming

12:16

15:19

7:16

16: 6

16:12

16: 8

16: 6

16: 5

16: 7

16: 3

16: 5

4th

Counter Logic Gaming

10:16

12:16

13:16

16:10

16:10

16: 5

16:11

16: 9

16: 8

16: 9

16: 2

5.

Team Liquid

13:16

19:22

8:16

16:12

16: 5

14:16

16:14

16:11

16: 2

16:12

16: 2

6th

Nihilum

11:16

16: 8

10:16

16:14

4:16

16:13

16:11

16:12

12:16

16:13

16: 9

7th

eLevate

16: 8

13:16

19:22

21:25

4:16

11:16

16: 5

19:17

16:12

16:11

16: 1

8th.

Tempo Storm

16:13

16: 2 2

9:16

13:16

7:16

12:16

7:16

16: 4

16: 5

16: 9

16: 9

9.

affNity

9:16

8:16

9:16

11:16

16:13

7:16

16:10

16: 9

16:12

16: 0

16: 2

10.

Method

3:16

11:16

12:16

15:19

10:16

12:16

2:16

14:16

14:16

16: 8

16: 0 1

11.

mouseSpaz

7:16

8:16

19:17

4:16

9:16

13:16

13:16

12:16

6:16

2:16

16: 5

12.

Ace Gaming

3:16

3:16

8:16

1:16

6:16

14:16

7:16

6:16

16:10

19:22

16: 3

Offline finals

The offline finals were held from July 2nd to 5th in the studio of the Electronic Sports League in Cologne . The American teams were able to keep up with the European level and achieve four wins in a direct comparison.

Team lineups

Cloud 9	Counter Logic Gaming	Team EnVyUs	fnatic
Ryan "fREAKAZOiD" Abadir	Tarik "TaRiK" Celik	Vincent "Happy" Schopenhauer	Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson
Sean "seangares" Gares	James "hazed" Cobb	Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux	Olof "olofm" Kajbjer
Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert	Steve "reltuC" Cutler	Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey	Robin "flusha" Rönnquist
Mike "shroud" Grzesiek	Josh "jdm64" Marzano	Richard "shox" Papillon	Markus "pronax" Wallsten
Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham	Pujan "FNS" Mehta	Nathan "NBK" Schmitt	Jesper "JW" Wecksell
Keyd stars	Luminosity Gaming	Team SoloMid	Virtus.pro
Fernando "fer" Alvarenga	Alexander "LeX" Deily	Finn "Karrigan" Andersen	Paweł “byali” Bieliński
Caio "zqk" Fonseca	Peter "ptr" Gurney	René "cajunb" Borg	Jarosław “pasha” Jarząbkowski
Lucas "Steel" Lopes	Keith "NAF-FLY" Markovic	Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth	Filip "Neo" Kubski
Ricardo "boltz" Prass	Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi	Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen	Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski
Gabriel "TrapN" Toledo	Todd "anger" Williams	Nicolai "device" Reedtz	Viktor "TaZ" Wojtas

Group A

ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 Finals
Disciplines	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
winner	fnatic
organizer	Electronic Sports League , E-Sports Entertainment Association
venue	ESL-Studio, Cologne
Participating clans	8th
Beginning	2nd July 2015
final	5th July 2015
Prize pool	$ 250,000
Games	13

Unsurprisingly, Luminosity Gaming was eliminated from group A as the bottom of the group. Virtus.pro secured group victory and a place in the semi-finals with convincing performances.

	Semifinals					Game for the semi-finals
		Cloud 9	16
		Team EnVyUs	13
							Cloud 9	10
							Virtus.pro	16
		Luminosity Gaming	4th
		Virtus.pro	16
						Game for the quarter-finals
							Team EnVyUs	16
							Luminosity Gaming	7th

Group B

Contrary to expectations, the American teams Keyd Stars and Counter Logic Gaming were able to win their first game against their European opponents. In the Scandinavian loser match between the two tournament favorites Team SoloMid and fnatic , the Danes had to admit defeat by 14:16. Counter Logic Gaming was able to secure the direct semi-finals.

	Semifinals					Game for the semi-finals
		fnatic	12
		Counter Logic Gaming	16
							Counter Logic Gaming	16
							Keyd stars	9
		Team SoloMid	12
		Keyd stars	16
						Game for the quarter-finals
							fnatic	16
							Team SoloMid	14th

Playoffs

Cloud 9 beat Team EnVyUs in the best-of-three in the quarter-finals . Semi-final opponents Counter Logic Gaming also had little to oppose the team. On the way to the final, Mike “shroud” Grzesiek and Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham were particularly convincing on the Cloud 9 side . The Americans' final opponent was fnatic . The Swedes prevail against Keyd Stars and Virtus.pro beforehand . The final game was decided by fnatic after four partly tight maps. In the Swedes, Olof “olofm” Kajbjer had the highest K / D in relation to the entire tournament.

	Quarter finals							Semifinals							final
		Counter Logic Gaming
		BYE
									Counter Logic Gaming	5	8th
									Cloud 9	16	16
		Team EnVyUs	12	12
		Cloud 9	16	16
																Cloud 9	16	6th	14th	15th
																fnatic	14th	16	16	19th
		Keyd stars	5	16
		fnatic	16	19th
									fnatic	12	16	16
									Virtus.pro	16	3	9
		BYE
		Virtus.pro

Prize money distribution

space	clan	Prize money (in US dollars )
1.	fnatic	$ 100,000
2.	Cloud 9	$ 60,000
3rd - 4th	Counter Logic Gaming Virtus.pro	$ 25,000
5th - 6th	Team EnVyUs Keyd Stars	$ 12,500
7th - 8th	Luminosity Gaming Team SoloMid	$ 7,500

Promotion playoffs

The winners of the playoffs of the six best teams in the second-rate Premier Division will play in the ESL ESEA Pro League in the following season .

EU premier playoffs

First round							Second round							Promotion lap
							010	Team LDLC White 1	0	0
050	Team Property	7th	7th				4th	Team ROCCAT	16	16
4th	Team ROCCAT	16	16											04th0	Team ROCCAT	19th	9	14th
3	E-question	16	16											2	SK Gaming	17th	16	16
6th	PiTER 1	0	0				3	E-question	7th	14th
							2	SK Gaming	16	16

NA Premier Playoffs

First round							Second round							Promotion lap
							010	EnemyGG	16	11	16
050	SKDC	16	16				5	SKDC	4th	16	13
4th	WinOutNET	13	6th											010	EnemyGG	7th	16	9
3	neXup Gaming	13	5											2	LunatiK	16	11	16
6th	Aviato	16	16				6th	Aviato	16	9	20th
							2	LunatiK	11	16	22nd

Relegation matches

The winners of the relegation games are eligible to participate in the ESL ESEA Pro League Season 2 .

EU relegation

PENTA Sports was able to prevail in two maps on de_dust2 and de_cache with clear results.

	Time: August 11, 2015 8:00 p.m. CEST
		PENTA Sports	16	16
		Team ROCCAT	9	11

The regular E-Frag Simeon "dream3r" Ganev was not allowed to take part in the relegation due to a former VAC ban. E-Frag couldn't find a fifth player and canceled the game. Mousesports will remain in the league.

	Time: canceled
		mousesports	1	1
		E-Frag.net Esports Club 1	0	0

NA relegation

The Method and EnemyGG teams were able to prevail in the American qualification. As a result of the withdrawal of eLevate, the players from SapphireKelownaDotCom subsequently received a starting place for the ESL ESEA Pro League Season 2 . They will play under the organization FolloweSports.com .

	Time: August 10th, 2015 at 2:00 a.m.
		Method	16	16
		SapphireKelownaDotCom	10	10

	Time: August 10, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. CEST
		mouseSpaz	8th	12
		EnemyGG	16	16

Remarks

¹ Losing team did not compete.

² Losing team stopped the game.

³The eLevate players split after the organization fired the team. The starting place is provided by eLevate by the players from SapphireKelownaDotCom , which were taken over by the organization FolloweSports.com .

Web links

• Liquipedia article on ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 (English)
• Coverage page for ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 on csgo.99damage.de
• Statistics on the league phase of the ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 on hltv.org
• Statistics on the offline finals on hltv.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ olofmeister out for two weeks. hltv.org, May 25, 2015, accessed on July 10, 2015 . 
2. ↑ nex, Spiidi and denis with mouz against PENTA. Change: What does the future hold? 99damage, May 4, 2015, accessed July 10, 2015 . 
3. ↑ EU table of the ESEA League
4. ^ NA table of the ESEA League
5. ↑ Bracket for the EU Premier Playoffs on play.esea.net
6. ↑ Bracket for the NA Premier Playoffs on play.esea.net
7. ↑ Match PENTA vs. ROCCAT on 99amage.de
8. ↑ Pro League relegation matches & format. ESEA, July 30, 2015, accessed July 31, 2015 . 
9. ↑ Match mouz vs. E-Ask on 99amage.de