M80 headline ESL Challenger Atlanta invites
ESL have announced the invites to ESL Challenger Atlanta, seeing M80 headline the list via the Local Hero invite. M80 is set to be joined in Atlanta by an assortment of tier-two teams consisting of FlyQuest, BIG, and BetBoom, as well as four yet-to-be-determined teams from various regional qualifiers.
The invite sees M80 return to ESL Challenger Atlanta after attending the event in 2023, unfortunately falling with a 0-2 record partially on account of having to use Rory "dephh" Jackson as a stand-in for former IGL Marcus "maNkz" Kjeldsen.
With the team recently adding Mason "Lake" Sanderson, the team will look to make a splash at NA's final international LAN of the year, especially as they will head into the event after playing in three international LANs in short order.
One more NA team will join M80 in Atlanta via the NA qualifier, and there is some consternation in the scene over the qualifier. Due to the events and their qualifiers happening in short succession, teams are required to pick the Atlanta qualifier or IEM Rio qualifier.
As such, teams will have to choose between a local event that will make it easier to find success at or a prestigious international LAN with a more difficult assortment of teams.
The team list for ESL Challenger Atlanta is currently:
• M80
• FlyQuest
• BIG
• BetBoom
• European Qualifier
• North American Qualifier
• South American Qualifier
• Oceania Qualifier
ESL Challenger Atlanta is set to start on October 4th.