ex-CLG Red and Detonate SparX are unstoppable
The group stage of ESL Impact Season 3 North America reached its end this week, and the most surprising result is Saints not making the playoffs after a strong final stretch of 2022.
One team that joined the scene at the start of 2023 was Chimkin, now known as Detonate SparX. This squad comprised of well-known players and young rising stars are now the biggest threat ex-CLG Red has seen in a long time. Demonstrating that, is both teams' records during the group stage of ESL Impact Season 3 NA.
ex-CLG Red and Detonate SparX ended both their groups with 6-0 records, but the former CLG Red squad dropped one map against Shimmer, whereas SparX managed to maintain a flawless map record during the six weeks.
There is an argument to be made regarding the skill level disparity in both groups, as ex-CLG Red had to face Saints, who, despite going through big changes, is still a top team in the scene, and Shimmer, one of the strongest up-and-coming rosters in the women's NA scene. SparX had to face an EG Gold squad that also went through some changes and had a player located in Europe during the whole group stage, and Starfish and Factor Ruby, who made some waves in ESL Impact Cash Cups but are still lacking in comparison to the scene's big sharks.
Regardless, it still is an incredible feat for SparX, who have little over four months of existence as a roster, to put together such an incredible run in the most important competition of their calendar. ex-CLG Red need to be praised for their flawless series record as well because this is a squad that completely changed its core in the second semester of 2022, adding one American player, one Australian player, and one French player; a bold move for a North American organization, even more so in the women's scene.
ex-CLG Red finished the group stage with six series wins, 12 map wins, 209 round wins, and one lost map. SparX ended Group B with six series wins, 12 map wins, and 196 round wins (17 less than ex-CLG Red).
ESL Impact Season 3 North America playoffs start on Saturday and will have the following matches:
ex-CLG Red vs. 
EG Gold Detonate SparX vs. Shimmer
