Melbourne groups put EG in tough company

The groups for ESL Challenger Melbourne have been drawn and revealed by ESL. The tournament will run from September 2nd to September 4th in Melbourne, Australia. The event has a $100,000 prize pool, with the winning team being awarded $50,000, plus a spot in ESL Pro League Season 17 Conference.

The teams have been split into two groups of four, where they will face a double-elimination format with elimination and decider matches being best-of-3 series. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group advance to the playoff stage, consisting of a single-elimination bracket, with all matches being best-of-3 series.

The draw pits Evil Geniuses against the Nemanja "nexa" Isaković-led OG roster, the always dangerous Russians from Entropiq, and Wings Up, the rising stars from China. The OG squad is the natural favorite to top group A and win the tournament, being the highest ranked team in the event.

Over in group B, a regional fight will ensue, as both Brazilian teams and both Oceanic teams have been drawn together. Imperial will enter the server for the first time after adding Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes, and paiN will try to show that the results from the RMR open qualifier aren't a fluke. The resident teams, ORDER and VERTEX, will try to upset their opposition and can count on their home crowd for a motivation boost.

The groups for ESL Challenger Melbourne are: