Rogue qualify for EPL Season 7 over Rise Nation
The final game of NA ESL Pro League Relegation was set to be decided between Rise Nation and Rogue. The winner would secure a spot in Season 7 of EPL while the loser would move down to Season 27 of MDL.
Rise Nation picked Inferno, and got off to a strong start. Andy "vSa" Xu, who had a very good weekend so far, picked up a triple kill in the first round. Kaleb "moose" Jayne, who had a poor event thus far began to step it up in the match against Rogue as well. Rogue were unable to pick up a round until round eight. Spencer "Hiko" Martin tried to pull Rogue back into the game, but Josh "shinobi" Abastado-led side couldn't put up a fight against the vSa and moose train.
With Hiko in the lead, Rogue picked up the second pistol round on Inferno and got a strong T half going. The Rogue side came within two rounds of Rise Nation at 13-11, but moose helped to put Rise on map point. Hiko kept Rogue alive with a big 1-on-3 and they secured overtime by taking three rounds in a row.
Overtime saw both Brandon "Ace" Winn and Michael "Uber" Stapells step up for their respective teams, with Rogue going 2-1 on their T side. Casper "cadiaN" Møller's AWP prowess powered Rogue to map point and Uber finished off Inferno, Rogue winning 19-17.
Rogue took the first three rounds on Mirage, with Daniel "vice" Kim picking up a 1v3 early on. Will "dazzLe" Loafman improved upon his Inferno performance, allowing Rise Nation to take the first gun round. vSa's squad were immediately reset however, and vice kept on his form to advance Rogue to five rounds. Hiko also chipped in as Rise were unable to secure any additional rounds. Rise Nation finally took a second in round 11 but shinobi reset moose and co. again. Uber then put in a few multi-kill rounds to lead Rogue to a 12-3 lead at the half.
Rogue also took the second pistol round on their pick of Mirage, but surprisingly Rise Nation reset the Rogue side. A triple kill from cadiaN put Rogue on match point, but three close clutches from Rise players kept the 2nd place MDL team in the game. The defense of Rogue was too much however, as vice and Uber combined to win Mirage 16-12 and the series 2-0.
Rise NationRogue| Rise Nation |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kaleb 'moose' Jayne |
55 - 37 | +18 | 94.5 | 73.4% | 1.39 |
 Brandon 'Ace' Winn |
44 - 43 | +1 | 77.7 | 73.4% | 1.15 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
50 - 48 | +2 | 85.1 | 60.9% | 1.09 |
| Andy 'vSa' Xu |
39 - 38 | +1 | 65.7 | 71.9% | 0.97 |
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
29 - 51 | -22 | 51.1 | 62.5% | 0.67 |
| Rogue |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer 'Hiko' Martin |
49 - 41 | +8 | 80.6 | 71.9% | 1.29 |
| Michael 'Uber' Stapells |
48 - 44 | +4 | 84.8 | 75.0% | 1.16 |
| Daniel 'vice' Kim |
43 - 41 | +2 | 73.4 | 79.7% | 1.09 |
 Casper 'cadiaN' Møller |
45 - 41 | +4 | 73.3 | 67.2% | 1.08 |
| Josh 'shinobi' Abastado |
32 - 50 | -18 | 61.7 | 70.3% | 0.89 |
This result sees Rogue qualifying for Season 7 of the ESL Pro League, retaining their spot from last season. Rise Nation will stay in MDL for Season 27, and will have their next chance at qualifying for EPL after EPL S7 concludes.
