The second day of ESL One New York would only feature three matches today, but we are already seeing off one more team from the tournament. There was an abundance of action in today’s matchups, so let’s jump right in. Who could have come on top between NRG Esports, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, G2 Esports, Mousesports, and Gambit?
The #ESLOne trophy has arrived in NYC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/jwsX8JI8ld
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
NRG upsets FaZe, eliminates them from ESL One New York
In the opening match of ESL One New York’s second day, NRG Esports would face off against European powerhouse FaZe Clan. However, it would be a much different outcome to what many expected. Mind you, FaZe were coming off a demoralizing loss against G2 Esports, a game they should have won. NRG is coming off a decent showing against Team Liquid, where they would take a map off the best team in North America. The series would kick off on Inferno, where the North American’s would take an early 5-0 lead. FaZe would strike back, led by a quadra kill by Finn “karrigan” Andersen, and would tie the score at 5-5.
Carrygan holds the B site from the Eco-Rush 👍 @karriganCSGO#ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtb0bPL pic.twitter.com/3WlCrujcDA
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Brehze makes things look easy
Each team would dig their heels in, with both sides going on round win streaks. The Europeans would seemingly take over the second half, going to match point, 15-12. Unfortunately for FaZe Clan, they would cool down at the wrong moment. Meanwhile, NRG Esports’ stars would heat up at the exact same time. Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte and Tsvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov would help lock down their defense and complete the comeback in overtime, 19-17. Brehze will finish this series leading the server with 52 kills.
It looked like a done deal for the T's, but @NRGgg clean it up 🧹#ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtb0bPL pic.twitter.com/qw9EzYzdcH
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
The second map, Mirage, would prove to be even worse for FaZe Clan. However, the first four rounds would not be indicative of their fate. FaZe would actually take a 3-1 round lead, but they would lose control of their economy and the game afterward. NRG would absolutely run over FaZe after their first buy round. They would even go on a six-round winning streak to end the half. Again, the European squad would take early rounds in the second half. However, as soon as NRG got their money together, they would run away with the rest of the match, 16-9. This was another disappointing finish for FaZe, who have not been able to reach a Grand Final since ESL One Belo Horizonte. It’s not looking great for their quest for the Intel Grand Slam title.
Mousesports secures playoffs with win over Gambit
The next matchup would be Mousesports facing off against Gambit, who is fresh off an upset victory over FaZe Clan. The CIS team is surprising many Counter-Strike fans with their performance so far at ESL One New York. Even Abay “Hobbit” Khasenov, who the team is accepting transfer negotiations for, is performing at an impressive rate. However, they were up against Mousesports, who was just done eliminating Fnatic from the tournament.
"Movement of an angel" 👼 @HObbitcsgo wins the 1v3#ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtb0bPL pic.twitter.com/KBUNdVl0oF
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Snax and suNny propel Mouz ahead
It would be all Gambit on their first map, Train, for the first half. Hobbit would put an exclamation point on a brilliant 8-1 lead with a dominant 1v3 win. Mousesports would claw back and lessen the deficit by the end of the half, 5-10. Again, Mousesports would put up a good effort on their T side. They would actually go on a six-round winning streak, before getting shut down by Gambit’s defense. The opening map would fall to the side of Gambit, 16-11, as another upset was in the works.
Strong B-site hold by @chrisJcsgo 💪 #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/4BW1IJHAXj
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Their second map would be a hotly contested Dust2, where Gambit would again take over the first half. Rustem “mou” Telepov and Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev would play spectacularly in these rounds and would head into the second half with a sizable lead. However, this would be where the game and series would turn. Off a 1v3 pistol round win from Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski, Mousesports would only concede one round in the half to win the map, 16-11.
.@mousesports triumph over @GambitEsports on Nuke 16-6 to take the series 2-1 ☢ #ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtaIAYd pic.twitter.com/wBoaLsYNxr
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Finally, Nuke would be the last map of the series between the two teams. Unfortunately for Gambit fans, Mousesports would run away with it very early. For example, Ropz would cap off a brilliant start to the first half with a Deagle ace in the third round. Gambit would only put up three wins in the first half, and three in the second as Snax and Miikka “suNny” Kemppi would come alive to take the series with a 16-6 win.
Team Liquid makes short work of G2, heads to playoffs
Finally, the last series of the day would be between Team Liquid and G2 Esports. The French squad was coming off a great win against FaZe Clan, where their star Kenny “kennyS” Schrub would come alive. However, they were facing off against a Team Liquid squad that has been the best team in North America in 2018. Their trio of explosive fraggers, Keith “NAF” Markovic, Jonathan ‘EliGE‘ Jablonowski and Russel ‘Twistzz‘ Van Dulken, have been a force to be reckoned with all year. Could G2 pull another upset this time around? Short answer: definitely not.
For a bunch of T's @TeamLiquid are doing a great job as CT's 😁#ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtb0bPL pic.twitter.com/T3cSlHvFhd
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
Nitr0 and co. dominate
Their first map would not even be close, as the calm, calculated style of Team Liquid would triumph again. G2 Esports was just all over the place on Cache. Capping off a 13-2 half with a NAF quadra kill, the North American powerhouse would not slow down for anyone. G2 would give themselves some hope with a couple of wins in the second half, but Liquid would be too powerful. They would continue their now-nine game win streak on Cache, with a 16-5 scoreline.
Inferno would be much more competitive, with G2 hopping to an early lead. KennyS would provide his side with a couple of clutches, to hit the half with a 10-5 lead. Everything was looking great for G2 until the second round of the second half. Nitr0 and Epitacio “TACO” de Melo would make a force buy work to perfection, and Team Liquid would win six rounds in a row. The teams would wrestle back and forth until NAF would, again, have two clutch rounds late. He would be key in their victory, taking the game 16-13, and the series.
The T's thought they cleared Library 📚 But they were so wrong 😈 @NAFFLY finds three 👍#ESLOne https://t.co/Z8HYtb0bPL pic.twitter.com/XYNaJdRuQm
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 27, 2018
What do you think of the results of ESL One New York’s second day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! If you want more coverage on ESL One New York, check us out here!
