The 19th season of the ESL Pro League (EPL) has come to a spectacular conclusion in St. Julian’s, Malta, as MOUZ triumph during an action-packed Grand Final. Keeping the fans on the edge of their seats during three electrifying rounds, MOUZ maintained their position as EPL Champions and crushed Team Vitality 3 – 0.
Having been victorious during ESL Pro League Season 18 as well, MOUZ have been showing off their remarkable skill and determination throughout the tournament to win yet another EPL trophy. By laying claim to the coveted title, the German organization will take home $170,000 out of the $750,000 total prize pool and they have secured themselves a direct invite to the Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne 2024 Group Stage.

Furthermore, the squad now adds their second win in the race to secure Intel® Grand Slam V in their attempt to become the first team victorious at three ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Masters and one EPT Championship tournament in a span of ten consecutive competitions. The team to do so will not only obtain the $1,000,000 cash prize and iconic gold bars, but also etch their name in Counter-Strike history.

EPL Season 19 saw a peak viewership of over 376,000*. Moreover, the final three days of the tournament were played out in front of an intimate live audience, with fans from 40 different countries gathering in Malta to experience the culmination of the action.

Group Stage

The 19th season of the world’s biggest Counter-Strike league took off on April 23, as the 32 competing teams were split up in four groups of eight during the Group Stage. The top four of each group would make their way into the Playoffs, with the group’s winners going directly to the Quarterfinals, the group’s runners-up making their way to the Round-of-12, and the remaining teams continuing their battle in the Round-of-16.

In the first week of the league season, the stage was set for the teams in Groups A and B as they clashed in an attempt to secure one of 16 spots in the Playoffs. In Group A, the Danish squad of Astralis and 3DMAX’ French roster went head-to-head in the upper-bracket, with the Danes eventually being the first to claim their spot in the final stage of the tournament without dropping a single map. FaZe Clan and Virtus.pro also secured their Playoffs tickets, winning the mid-bracket and lower-bracket finals respectively.

Meanwhile, the competition in Group B was heating up as well, with Team Vitality remaining unbeaten and topping their group. The MongolZ, BetBoom Team, and G2 Esports finished second to fourth, thereby also proceeding to the Playoffs.

During the second week of EPL Season 19, it was time for the teams in Groups C and D to show off their skill and prove their worth. In Group C, MOUZ had a successful run and came out on top unbeaten, with Team Liquid claiming the second place. GamerLegion also managed to advance to the Playoffs via the mid-bracket, and so did Monte via the lower-bracket.

In Group D the battle was also on with many close rounds being played out. Eventually however, Complexity was the first to prevail, with Natus Vincere, BIG, and FlyQuest completing the top four and claiming the final Playoffs spots.

Playoffs

The Playoffs took place from May 7-12 and saw the top 16 teams compete in a single elimination bracket for a spot in the Grand Final. By the end of the second day there were just eight teams remaining, including EPL Season 17 winners FaZe Clan and IEM Cologne 2023 Champions G2 Esports. Despite an impressive run from both these teams, their journeys were cut short in the Quarterfinals by Team Vitality and reigning EPL Champions MOUZ respectively.

The Semifinals saw Astralis pitted against Team Vitality, and MOUZ pitted against Complexity in the latter team’s first-ever EPL Semifinal appearance. In an impressive display of resilience when tensions were at their highest, both Team Vitality and MOUZ managed to reverse sweep their opponents to secure their well-deserved spots in the Grand Final.

Team Vitality put on an especially notable performance against Astralis in the Semifinals, winning through overtime in the second game and using their newfound momentum to secure the game 3 win.

Before Team Vitality and MOUZ continued their journey into the Grand Final for the moment of truth, however, it was the time for broadcast talents Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and Janko “YNk” Paunović to show if they, too, have what it takes during the Grand Final of the Qiddiya 1v1 tournament. Following 20 fast-paced rounds, YNk came out on top with a score of 13-7. Pitting all ESL Pro League broadcast talent against each other over the course of the three-week-long season, the Qiddiya 1v1 tournament provided fans tuning in during the live broadcast with an additional unique and exhilarating competition.

Grand Final

Reigning EPL Champions MOUZ started off the first game strong on Inferno, picking up momentum and reaching 9-3 at halftime with little resistance. Despite some good rounds in the second half, Team Vitality were unable to bring it back, and MOUZ ultimately claimed the win with a score of 13-9.

Game 2 started with an early 2-0 lead for Team Vitality, but MOUZ quickly shut that down, once again securing a 9-3 lead at halftime. Team Vitality’s resilience shone through with back-to-back clutches in rounds 14 and 15, but it was not enough to keep MOUZ from closing out the game 13-8.

At this point, MOUZ were unstoppable, and their dominance continued into game 3, dropping only two rounds in the first half, and three in the second. Despite Team Vitality’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut having his highest rated S-tier LAN performance, the French organization ultimately fell short and it was MOUZ who secured the Champions title in a triumphant finish for the second season in a row.

“Back-to-back, it feels amazing,” said Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo of MOUZ. “It means a lot. It’s been a long time since we won so it’s good to win a Tier 1 trophy again, especially with this team. It’s amazing that we won.”

With their well-deserved win, MOUZ take home the $170,000 grand prize, qualify for IEM Cologne later this year, and take one step closer to securing Intel® Grand Slam V.

Additionally, MOUZ’ Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek was awarded the EPT DHL MVP award for his exceptional performance, and said: “We came into this tournament very fired up and the form that we showed here was amazing. I can only perform well with my teammates playing so good as well, so thank you very much to them.”

Leading gaming and esports media company NODWIN Gaming and renowned video game publisher Riot Games has announced that the upcoming OMEN VALORANT Challengers South Asia 2024: Split 1 – Cup 2 LAN Finals will be hosted in Delhi. This announcement follows the successful conclusion of Cup 1 in Pune.

The decision to host the finals in Delhi is part of a strategic effort to expose a broad audience to high-stakes esports competition, capitalizing on the region’s rising enthusiasm for esports. The inaugural Cup of the  OMEN VALORANT Challengers South Asia 2024: Split 1 successfully captured significant attention, drawing an impressive crowd of over 25,000 attendees who watched the champions being crowned at the venue. The event also enjoyed robust online engagement, accumulating more than 700,000 views and more than 100,000 hours of gameplay streamed across various digital platforms. OMEN by HP served as the tournament’s title partner and Philips as the styling partner.

OMEN VALORANT Challengers South Asia 2024: Split 1 – Cup 2 Finals will be held on 18th and 19th May, featuring the top 4 teams, True Rippers, Revenant Esports, MLT Esports and GrayFox Esports battling it on LAN in Vegas Mall, Dwarka in Delhi. The event will be live streamed on NODWIN Gaming’s YouTube channel. Like Cup 1, the grand finals will be a LAN event aimed at providing a thrilling esports experience to the attendees.

Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming, commented on the choice of Delhi, “The successful completion of the Split 1 is a testament to the growing popularity of esports in the region. We are excited to host Cup 2 Grand Finals in Delhi and aim to provide fans in the region a top notch esports competition where the best teams from across regions compete for the championship title. I would like to sincerely thank our partners for their continued support and for sharing our vision to elevate esports in the region.”

Sukamal Pegu, Esports Lead, India & South Asia, Riot Games, said “The OMEN VCSA is an important platform for us to identify top VALORANT Esports talent from India and showcase them. This year we have seen the competition get more intense with international athletes such as SK Rossi playing in the circuit, giving the fans non-stop entertainment and excitement. The Delhi event will be a cracker!”

Arun Rajappa, Country Manager, India & South Asia, Riot Games, said “We are absolutely elated by the support and enthusiasm that the fans, players and teams of the region have shown to VALORANT. After an exciting Cup 1, we are thrilled to bring Cup 2 to Delhi. We are committed to the growth of esports in the region by fostering the ecosystem and providing more opportunities to fans and players alike.”

This announcement coincides with the conclusion of the VCT Game Changers South Asia Split 1, also hosted by NODWIN Gaming, where MLT Esports was victorious. This tournament is part of a broader initiative to promote inclusivity and provide competitive opportunities for women and other marginalized genders within the VALORANT community.

The Delhi grand finals promise to be a highlight for the VALORANT esports community, offering another chapter of high-level competition in the region.

For further updates and information about the VALORANT Challengers South Asia, follow NODWIN Gaming on social media:YouTube/Instagram/Twitter/Facebook

The United Kingdom is one of the countries represented in the largest video game competition between universities across Europe. Students from University of Roehampton, Nottingham Trent University, and Staffordshire University will fight to qualify for the Grand Final and become champions of UNIVERSITY Esports Masters (UE Masters).

After demonstrating a high level in the previous qualifiers, the British universities will have four teams participating in the UE Masters Playoffs, which will be played on the following dates: Rocket League (May 11 and 12) and VALORANT (May 25 and 26). In addition to the players from the UK, opponents representing Croatia, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands will also take part. The matches can be followed on the competition’s official Twitch channel (twitch.tv/uemasters).

Two teams of University of Roehampton will seek victory in Rocket League Playoffs this weekend. On the other hand, students from Nottingham Trent University and Staffordshire University will try to be the winners in the VALORANT Playoffs in the coming weeks.

The 2023/24 edition of the UE Masters, which will distribute a total prize pool of 14,000 euros, has counted with the participation of university teams from 17 European countries and the support of Riot Games, one of the world’s leading video game developers (publishers).

Beyond of a video game competition

UNIVERSITY Esports Masters is a video game competition integrated within UNIVERSITY Esports, a global esports, gaming and technology project that is present in 26 countries on four continents and has the participation of more than 100,000 students.

The main objectives of UNIVERSITY Esports Masters are to create a sense of community among players from all over Europe, to give them the opportunity to compete in high quality international tournaments and to provide avenues for young people to develop a career within the esports world, as well as to find a place to learn and enhance their skills.

The potential of esports and gaming in the UK

Gaming and video game competitions are positioned as one of the fastest growing sectors of the entertainment industry year on year globally. According to the statistics portal Statista, “the United Kingdom is experiencing a surge in Esports popularity, with a growing number of tournaments, teams, and dedicated arenas.”

The same source forecasts that the domestic esports market in the UK will reach revenues of £183.3 million in 2024, with a penetration rate of 27.9%. By 2028, it estimates revenues of £234 million and a market share of 33.1%.