Nouns best Evil Geniuses to earn Jönköping berth
Nouns have guaranteed a spot in the ESL Challenger Jönköping 2023 after beating Evil Geniuses in the grand final of the closed qualifier 2-1. Despite dropping one map in every series played during the qualifier, Nouns have managed to overcome their opponents and finished the event with no losses.
The last time EG won a qualifier was back in April 2023, with the then-EG Black roster, for the ESL Challenger Melbourne. Since then, every event the squad has participated in has been due to invites or partnerships.
The closed qualifier had four of the top teams in North America, Nouns, EG, Forsaken, and Wildcard. Nouns and EG faced off in the very first round, with Nouns winning 2-1, at the same time as Forsaken beat Wildcard 2-0. Wildcard would suffer another loss, this time to EG in the lower bracket, to be eliminated from the qualifier.
Forsaken almost had Nouns' number during the upper final, but Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen's men managed to turn things around and get away with the 2-1 victory. Forsaken met EG in the lower bracket final and suffered the same fate as Wildcard before them. A 2-0 in favor of the Geniuses and the stage was set for the crucial series.
Evil Geniuses started off the grand final with a very solid Ancient pick, showing prowess both on the defensive and offensive end, ending the map with a 13-6 win. Nouns answered back with their reliable Nuke pick, winning the map 13-9. EG did not seem able to recover from that loss, as Mirage was a one-sided affair, with Nouns conquering the Jönköping spot with a 13-6 decider victory.
NounsEvil Geniuses| Nouns |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
49 - 40 | +9 | 92.4 | 76.7% | 1.31 |
 David 'cynic' Polster |
44 - 40 | +4 | 77.6 | 81.7% | 1.12 |
| Christopher 'cJ dA K1nG' Jones |
41 - 39 | +2 | 69.5 | 73.3% | 1.03 |
| Carson 'nosraC' O'Reilly |
37 - 42 | -5 | 70.8 | 71.7% | 0.97 |
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
34 - 46 | -12 | 60.4 | 68.3% | 0.87 |
| Evil Geniuses |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
52 - 41 | +11 | 93.8 | 70.0% | 1.24 |
| Timothy 'autimatic' Ta |
45 - 38 | +7 | 78.9 | 70.0% | 1.15 |
| Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
45 - 37 | +8 | 73.3 | 70.0% | 1.12 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
34 - 47 | -13 | 57.9 | 70.0% | 0.88 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
28 - 43 | -15 | 60.6 | 71.7% | 0.87 |
ESL Challenger Jönköping 2023 will run from November 24th until the 26th, in Jönköping, Sweden, and will feature eight teams fighting for the ESL Pro League Season 19 spot and $50,000 awarded to the winners of the event.
The list of the teams attending the tournament so far is:
Monte - ESL Ranking (Europe)
GamerLegion - ESL Ranking
Virtus.pro - ESL Ranking
Eternal Fire - ESL Ranking
Nouns - NA Closed Qualifier
Looking4Org - EU Closed Qualifier
TBD - SA Closed Qualifier
TBD - Asia Closed Qualifier
