Extra Salt Snap Sprout’s Unbeaten Streak, Endpoint Upset at EPL Conference Day One

Eight opening round matchups commenced earlier today to mark the debut of the ESL Pro League Conference, a new pathway to professional play that offers three advancement positions into Pro League. With the event operating under a best-of-three double-elimination format, each team was thrust into the fire knowing there is little room for error. Falling into the lower bracket on day one is the worst-case scenario, as the only way back out is to win five straight series against the equally hungry competition. On day one, each underdog is looking to score the major upset victory that rocks the entire bracket. At the same time, each favorite fights equally as hard to ensure they do not fall into the trap. For the rare third party, two strong teams get matched up to start. This time around, we had all three.

MAD Lions, Renegades, and Anonymo won their opening matches with relative ease, taking 2-0 victories as the respective favorites. It took both LDLC and Movistar Riders three maps to close their series’ out but left no doubts in the two maps they won. GODSENT hung on by the slightest of margins in their map three double OT barnburner on Ancient against Wisla Krakow, narrowly avoiding the upset. The series after that, however, would be the best-of-three to produce the legendary day one upset.

Endpoint Fan the Flames

An entirely new-look Endpoint squad entered the event never having played an official with newly acquired Mohammad ‘BOROS’ Malhas and Guy ‘Nertz’ Iluz and were looking to start their tenure with a bang against a surging Eternal Fire squad that claimed victory in eight of their last nine series. The rookies were able to do just that from the start, with Nertz and BOROS both operating as the key components for getting through the triple-overtime war on map one, Mirage. By the time the Vertigo decider came to, the Endpoint veterans were able to grind out the Eternal Fire onslaught to complete the upset. BOROS stood tall, outperforming nearly everyone in the server including familiar tier-one talents Ismailcan ‘XANTARES’ Dörtkardeş and Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker. Endpoint will look to replicate that same performance tomorrow against a GODSENT lineup that was nearly upset. Coincidentally, Eternal Fire will have no choice but to right the ship in an elimination series on Thursday against the same Wisla Krakow team that already brought it to GODSENT.

Clash of the Tier 2 Titans

In the earlier portions of day one, fans were treated to a clash between perhaps the two hottest teams entering the EPL Conference. Extra Salt entered the event with a 19-4 map record and a single series loss since the addition of Ricky ‘floppy’ Kemery last month. Sprout was operating with a similar set of momentum following their acquisitions of Kamil ‘Kei’ Pietkun and coach Danny ‘BERRY’ Kruger. The newly formed lineup entered the event with a map record of 14-2 and an unblemished series record. The two lineups coming to blows had the potential to be a memorable series. When the smoke cleared, the Salters stood head and shoulder above the undefeated Sprout, taking their zero away with relative ease. Newly acquired floppy offered major impact in the series, but no player stood out quite like NA’s next up, Josh ‘oSee’ Ohm. His impact with the AWP was unavoidable, forcing his will onto his opposition even during the map they dropped and ending with a server-best HLTV rating of 1.38. Sprout has a chance to find their footing tomorrow against Renewal, a Mongolian team outside of the top 150. As for the in-form Extra Salt, they will have a tough matchup against Renegades, who are looking to get to the Pro League to prove once again they are the best team in Oceania.