2-0s galore in ECL S44 NA Playoffs first rounds

The ESL Challenger League Season 44 NA playoffs are in full swing and the season is getting close to the end. No major upsets happened in the first round of playoffs, but a lot of 2-0 results were scene as we move past the crucial first stage.

MIBR, last season's champions, are yet to drop a map after two wins against Detonate and Nouns. Despite the results, most maps were close, not just for MIBR, but in general.

The opening round was full of 2-0 results. MIBR vs. Detonate, Nouns vs. LOS + oNe, EG Black vs. timbermen, and ATK vs. Strife.

The Brazilians started their playoff run with a 16-13 win on Inferno, Detonate's pick. The second map showed a completely different Detonate squad, as MIBR completely controlled Vertigo from start to finish, ending the map with a 16-3 result. Felipe "insani" Yuji continues to show dominance in the regional competition, once again averaging more than 100 damage per round.

Nouns and LOS + oNe had a more balanced series. With the North Americans taking both maps 16-12, the Brazilians must be kicking themselves for not being able to close either of the two maps. Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado is showing that the sabbatical year he took didn't translate into a downturn in his performance.

A closer series than the previous one was the one between EG Black and timbermen, with the Evil Geniuses winning Mirage and Overpass with the same 16-14 score. timbermen had a real chance of upsetting their opposition but failed on the last hurdle, twice. Tianyi "Fr3nk1e" He, who just joined the timbermen roster a few weeks ago, was the series' top fragger with 50 kills.

To close the opening round, ATK and Strife would provide two completely inverse maps of gameplay. ATK would completely dominate Inferno, picked by Strife, 16-3, and then would suffer to conquer a win on Mirage, needing three overtimes to do so, and ending the map 25-23. Gareth "MisteM" Ries ended the series with 65 kills.

The following round would see MIBR vs. Nouns, and ATK vs. EG Black on the upper bracket, while Detonate would meet LOS + oNe and timbermen would face Strife on the lower bracket.

Starting from below, Strife would avenge their Inferno loss but would repeat the result from Mirage from earlier, in one of the two series that ended 2-1. With Inferno going Strife's way 16-9 and Mirage going timbermen's way 16-9 as well, things would be decided on Overpass. Strife managed to get to overtime, again, but this time around their closed the map with a win, 22-20. Bobby "stamina" Eitrem finished the series with 85 kills, 14 more kills than the second most deadly player on that server.

LOS + oNe would also get revenge by winning 2-0 against Detonate. During the two maps, Detonate were missing some offensive prowess, which complicated their lives. 16-10 on Inferno and 16-13 on Mirage would see Detonate exiting the playoffs without a single map win.

On the upper bracket, ATK would eliminate send EG Black down, after a 2-1 win that started with ATK again winning in overtime, this time 22-20. EG Black managed to tie the series with a 16-12 Mirage, but ATK would take the series after coming back from a 14-9 deficit on Vertigo to win the map 16-14. Ethan "reck" Serrano, who is standing in for ATK, was the top fragger of the series.

MIBR and insani would continue their good exhibitions, winning 2-0 this time against Nouns. 16-11 on Inferno and 16-10 on Anubis sealed the deal as insani would once again top the fragging list.

The upper bracket final will see MIBR vs. ATK, while on the lower bracket semifinals, EG Black will face LOS + oNe, and Nouns will face Strife. All three games are scheduled to start at 08:00PM.

Upper bracket final

MIBR vs. ATK

Lower bracket semifinals

EG Black vs. LOS + oNe
Nouns vs. Strife