What to expect from M80 v. NRG: ECL Finals
Back, to back, to back. This is the first time that a team has the chance to three-peat as champions of ESL Challenger League in North America. M80 have proven themselves worthy over and over again as the kings of domestic NA with tonight's match certainly solidifying such a claim.
NRG and M80 accomplished what they came out to do: earn qualification for the next season of the ESL Pro League. With that major hurdle behind them, the stakes have come down just ever slightly for the two sides. However, for M80 a win tonight is much more meaningful in the record books while NRG could show everyone on the big stage they are capable of upsetting the big dogs.
NRG's magical run
They already lost to M80 once before, but they proved their worthiness by fighting through the lower bracket and even taking down #1 overall seed Legacy to earn a spot in ESL Pro League. Nick "nitr0" Cannella is currently battling a personal issue which might take his attention elsewhere, causing the rest of his team to need to step up.
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Brehze is rolling back the years with his form
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oSee can be hot and cold still in this lineup
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automatic has to play like the veteran he is
Not a problem for M80
They come in with a one map advantage, a team that's absolutely on fire, and a lineup that can compete amongst the best in the world. For every scenario they are the heavy favorites. Is it possible that they can continue that dominance tonight and truly stake a claim as having a dynasty in NA league play?
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Swisher continues to struggle as an anchor
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Lake proving he can rise to the challenge
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s1n is evolving into a strong, confident IGL despite his young age
Previous Matchups
The two know each other pretty well thanks to their constantly battles in the league and in qualifiers. M80 has the series edge, but that doesn't mean we can count out NRG. They've already beaten Legacy after losing seven straight maps to the Brazilians, so who is to say that they can't make another miraculous win here tonight?
Likely Vetoes
M80 come in with a one map advantage, so the veto becomes just a bit strange
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M80 remove Mirage
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NRG remove Nuke
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M80 pick Dust2
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NRG picked Vertigo
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M80 pick Ancient
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NRG pick Anubis
It'll be interesting to see how the veto unfolds between the two, but it's likely to see Vertigo and Anubis come out for NRG, while M80 just need to rely on playing their own game to secure those three maps.
M80NRG| M80 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
47 - 23 | +24 | 99.0 | 86.5% | 1.63 |
 Elias 's1n' Stein |
44 - 24 | +20 | 79.9 | 90.4% | 1.42 |
| Ethan 'reck' Serrano |
35 - 28 | +7 | 76.3 | 84.6% | 1.31 |
| Mason 'Lake' Sanderson |
36 - 35 | +1 | 88.3 | 78.8% | 1.29 |
| Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich |
37 - 22 | +15 | 69.4 | 80.8% | 1.21 |
| NRG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
37 - 39 | -2 | 80.5 | 71.2% | 0.91 |
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
26 - 38 | -12 | 56.6 | 67.3% | 0.76 |
| Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte |
28 - 43 | -15 | 67.1 | 67.3% | 0.70 |
| Nick 'nitr0' Cannella |
25 - 41 | -16 | 62.8 | 48.1% | 0.64 |
| Timothy 'autimatic' Ta |
16 - 40 | -24 | 50.3 | 50.0% | 0.48 |
