by MIBR secured a spot in the playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 20 after a hard-fought 2-1 (2-13, 13-7, 16-13) victory over Spirit in the Group B upper bracket semi-finals.
Coming off a win against 9z, MIBR initially struggled, losing their Ancient pick 13-2.
However, they bounced back with a strong 6-0 start on the counter-terrorist side of the second map, comfortably tying the Counter-Strike series.
The decider, Anubis, went into overtime, where MIBR emerged victorious despite a fierce comeback from Spirit, led by Danil “donk” Kryshkovets.
.@MIBR ARE GOING TO THE #ESLProLeague XX PLAYOFFS ???? pic.twitter.com/aXkewCGoAi
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 5, 2024
Spirit will drop into the lower bracket and will face The MongolZ, who decisively beat KOI 2-0 (13-1, 13-0) in just 81 minutes, where they only lost one round across the two maps.
The Mongolians dominated, with standout performances from Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch and Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar, both boasting over a 2.00 rating.
KOI now faces elimination in the Last Chance Stage against Wildcard, who were convincingly beaten by 9z Team 2-0 (13-6, 13-10) in the lower bracket of Group B.
Elsewhere, both Heroic and Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) are in the Last Chance Stage after defeats in their lower bracket semi-finals.
Heroic let an 11-3 lead slip on Nuke against Sangal, losing the series despite a strong showing from Guy “NertZ” Iluz and Abdul “degster” Gasanov on Mirage.
NiP pushed FaZe Clan to the limit but eventually crumbled in the decider on Dust2, where H?vard “rain” Nygaard led FaZe to an 11-1 halftime advantage, before claiming the final map 13-1.
IT'S PLAYOFFS FOR @G2CSGO ??
They've guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs of #ESLProLeague Season 20! ???? pic.twitter.com/Z19k1TtNpC
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 5, 2024
G2 Esports also secured a playoff spot after defeating 3DMAX 2-1 (10-13, 13-6, 13-7) and set up a clash with MIBR in the upper bracket final, with the winner set to earn a quarter-final spot in the playoffs.
Friday’s ESL Pro League fixtures
- 9z Team ($1.72) vs 3DMAX ($2.00) @ 1:30pm CEST
- The MongolZ ($3.75) vs Team Spirit ($1.25) @ 1:30pm CEST
- FlyQuest ($1.50) vs Lynn Vision ($2.50) @ 4:30pm CEST
- Sangal Esports ($3.40) vs FaZe Clan ($1.30) @ 4:30pm CEST
- KOI ($2.50) vs Wildcard ($1.50) @ 7:30pm CEST
- Winner of 9z/3DMAX vs Winner of Spirit/MongolZ @ 7:30pm CEST
