ECL Season 42 regular season draws to a close

After over a month of play, the regular season of ESL Challenger League Season 42 has wrapped up, finalizing the teams who will be competing in the post-season. Conversely, we also now know the sides that will have to fight for their ECL survival in relegation once the season concludes.

Starting first with Group A, it is no surprise that Brazilian squads MIBR and oNe topped the charts. MIBR have had an incredibly dominant season so far, dropping only a single map, against Mythic, across the seven series the squad played in the regular season. oNe follow their countrymen closely with a strong 6-1 record, with their only map and series losses coming at the hands of MIBR.

Evil Geniuses Black is next in line, and although they had a rough start to the season after accruing a 1-2 record in their first three matches, the team pulled through in the remainder of the season with four straight series victories to lock down a playoff spot. The final playoff spot in the group goes to Brazen, who have secured their spot in the post-season after beating out Kari in the head-to-head, as both teams had a 3-4 record to conclude the regular season.

At the bottom of the group is Davenport University, who only scored one series victory against Unjustified during their debut ECL Season, with this result sending the collegiate squad back to Advanced. Mythic and Unjustified have each avoided being shipped back to Advanced directly, but both squads will have to duke it out in relegation due to their 2-5 and 1-6 records, respectively. The final team, Kari, will miss out on playoffs but will enjoy the luxury of not having to contend for their ECL spot in relegation.

The final results of Group A are:

1. MIBR - Playoffs
2. oNe - Playoffs
3. Evil Geniuses Black - Playoffs
4. Brazen - Playoffs
5. kari - ECL S43
6. Mythic - ECL S42 Relegation
7. Unjustified - ECL S42 Relegation
8. Davenport University - ESEA S43 Advanced

With Group A's results wrapped up, that takes us over to Group B. No one managed to secure a perfect record in this group, but ATK and Vendetta certainly got close as each attained 6-1 records, as ATK stumbled against BHOP while Vendetta was unable to contend with ATK. These solid records guaranteed these two teams their playoff positions. Trailing behind ATK and Vendetta is Nouns, who takes the third position in the group after losses to the two aforementioned squads. The recipient of Group B's final playoff spot was up for grabs until the very last day, but in the end, Iron Blood have laid claim to the spot after narrowly besting BHOP.

At the bottom of Group B is Task Force 141, the squad formerly representing Detonate, who conclude ECL Season 42 with an unfortunate 0-7 record, sending the orgless squad back to Advanced for Season 43. Victorum and BHOP will both be making their way to relegation, both with very different outlooks on the season. Victorum had an unenviable 1-6 final record, while BHOP finish with a 3-4 record, only getting sent to relegation due to their aforementioned loss to Iron Blood and a loss to Strife earlier in the season. Wrapping up the group, Strife will retain their spot in the next season of ECL, but will miss out on the post-season after having previously reached playoffs in the last two seasons of ECL.

The final results of Group B are:

1. ATK - Playoffs
2. Vendetta - Playoffs
3. Nouns - Playoffs
4. Iron Blood - Playoffs
5. Strife - ECL S43
6. BHOP - ECL S42 Relegation
7. Victorum - ECL S42 Relegation
8. Task Force 141 - ESEA S43 Advanced

With the group stage concluded, we now also have our quarterfinal matchups. The opening matches of the post-season will be:

Playoffs are scheduled to begin on October 18th, and conclude with the grand final on October 23rd, in the usual double-elimination format. Relegation is set to start in just shy of two weeks, on October 12th. Here Mythic, Unjustified, Victorum, and BHOP will be joined by four sides from the ongoing Advanced playoffs for a shot at competing in ECL Season 43.